Slog - Comments on Trouble in "Paradise"

Comment by jayme

jayme — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:45:38 -0800

i worked at borders for 6 years, and probably for the last 2 (i left in 2006), those who worked in the company knew things weren't looking good. it is a shame, but i'm not sure how they are going to get out of this without laying people off (they laid off 10% of corporate workers in 2006) or massively reworking their operating procedure.

Comment by JC

JC — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:49:16 -0800

They've been in financial trouble for years.

Comment by laterite

laterite — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:56:55 -0800

Borders can be hit or miss on inventory. Some stores have stuffed shelves and piles of books at the end of aisles, others seem to have a lot of "fluff" like stationery sets, wide spaces between sections, etc.

Comment by keshmeshi

keshmeshi — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:59:02 -0800

The few times I've been in there, I was the only customer. Kind of sad.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:53:04 -0800

I know from personal experience that bookstore chains can hang on for seemingly forever after they've tanked financially. How long have they been going sour? I don't get to them very often anymore; I don't much go downtown (which is a pretty good store), and the only other one I've been in in Seattle is Alderwood Mall (a terrible, terrible one).