Comments on Trouble in "Paradise"

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.

They've been in financial trouble for years.

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.

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

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).