NEW YORK — Amid upbeat jazz music and large red-and-yellow signs announcing the “Final Days” of the Borders store in Queens in New York City, customers snagged deals on used chairs and coffee machines. At a Borders in Cincinnati, readers were eager to grab book titles for up to 90 percent off. “I find it really sad,” said Victoria Florea, 49, who was looking for discounts this weekend at the Cambridge, Mass., store so she could use her $50 gift card before it closes. “I’m glad to get these bargains, but I’m sad at the same time.”
Borders, an Ann Arbor, Mich., chain that pioneered the big-box bookselling concept and grew to 1,249 stores at its peak in 2003, will cease to exist by the end of the day on Sunday. It’s a victim of a shift in the industry brought on by customers who’d much rather read their favorite titles on an electronic book or tablet computer than turn the page on a paperback. The chain’s demise is expected to have wide-reaching effects on authors and publishers, who will have to find new ways to market their work, and on competitors like Barnes & Noble that will benefit from losing a big rival.
“The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry,” said Michael Norris, a Simba Information senior trade analyst. “The loss of the ‘showroom’ effect of bookstores is not going to be replaced anytime soon.”
A few vestiges of Borders will remain. Books-A-Million is taking over 14 stores. And bidders including Barnes & Noble and Malaysian company Berjaya Books (which operated some Borders in Malaysia) will take over $15.8 million in Borders’ intellectual property. That includes trademarks; the Borders, Waldenbooks and Brentano’s trade names; Internet domain names; and the Borders.com e-commerce website.
That’s little solace to some shoppers who were taking advantage of the deals at the remaining Borders stores on Sunday.
“What a shame,” said Marcin Machula, 40, a trainer from Queens who was in the store over the weekend. He said he has been coming to the Glendale Borders once a month for years to have a cup of coffee and look for books on sports performance. “This place is going to be missed.”
