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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Books A Complete List of Borders That Are Closing

Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 9:01 AM

As Goldy said, Borders filed for bankruptcy this morning. Here's a searchable list of all the closing stores. Washington is losing two: Gig Harbor and Lynnwood.

This reorganization is going to have a huge impact on the publishing industry: Borders is still responsible for somewhere around ten percent of the bookselling market, and it is the only physical bookseller in many markets. We'll be seeing repercussions of this for a long time to come.

UPDATE 10:19am: Kobo just posted a change to their FAQ saying that if you have bought e-books through Borders, you are not in danger of losing them:

Your ebook library is perfectly safe. The Borders ebook experience is powered by Kobo, an entirely separate company from Borders. Kobo is financially secure and will continue to maintain your ebook library no matter what happens.

Comments (9) RSS

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Holy crap. I live in Tampa and out of the 20 Borders stores in a 200-mile radius, 3 are staying open.

Posted by infrequentposter on February 16, 2011 at 9:24 AM

And the ones still open are shells of what they used to be.
I worked at the downtown Seattle Borders back in the days when Dan Savage would hideout in the cafe to write. Our inventory was overflowing (especially the music section). I go now and it's just open space. They managed to combine the once brimming DVD section with the music section.

Posted by CommonKnowledge on February 16, 2011 at 10:05 AM

I have to admit that I'm not terribly saddened to see the Alderwood location go. For all the space it takes up, its inventory is pretty sparse. It could easily be a one-floor store. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, you can't actually enter the store from the mall proper. You have to first go through the open-air portion and go around a corner before finding the entrance. Very awkward.

Posted by laterite on February 16, 2011 at 10:08 AM

I'm amazed (but glad) that the Spokane store isn't closing. Seems like it hardly has any customers any time I go in there. It's relatively small, though, and rent has got to be cheaper than in Lynnwood.

Posted by this guy I know in Spokane on February 16, 2011 at 10:21 AM

I like the downtown Borders because it is near the DSTT Westlake Station ... B&N is a bit out of the way if I need to quickly run in for something.

Although I still frequent the magazine/newsstand @ Pike Place Market the most

Posted by Gordon Werner on February 16, 2011 at 10:39 AM

Nice that they will still honor gift cards too. Not that I have any, but nice for those who do.

Posted by topher on February 16, 2011 at 10:43 AM

I read the headline and thought it was an immigration story.

Posted by venomlash on February 16, 2011 at 11:51 AM

Wow, I'm surprised that the Everett Mall store is still open but Alderwood one is closing. I didn't mind entering the Alderwood space from the outside world as I usually always park in that general area or across the street and walk it.

Posted by Simone on February 16, 2011 at 12:10 PM

The Santa Cruz, CA store is on the list! This is good. Long independent Book Shop Santa Cruz three blocks away survived. Though the huge empty space could become a Whole Foods or another attempt to displace local businesses.

Posted by Maggie on February 16, 2011 at 1:06 PM