GOT TO KEEP SMILING

I just had to share this - a sign at a closing down Borders store read: NEED A RESTROOM?  USE AMAZONS.

Check out the related post HERE

Kobo will continue without Borders

While Kobo ebooks and Kobo ereaders have been associated with Borders as a partnership of sorts that provided a physical location for the Kobo brand, Kobo and Borders are actually two very separate entities.  The news of bankruptcy and financial problems for Borders is certainly disheartening, and is more evidence of the continued strain on businesses in America during difficult economic times.  However, Kobo ebook fans and Kobo eReader owners can take comfort in knowing that access to Kobo ebooks and support for their Kobo ereaders will not be affected in the least, and will simply transfer solely to Kobo.com.


For Kobo enthusiasts who enjoy getting face to face support at Borders, the transition to Kobo.com should prove seamless for you, and be even more convenient as you can access Kobo’s support without leaving the comfort of your home or office.  Kobo.com also features terrific promotions that are not always available at Borders.  Currently they are offering coupons for ebook purchases which vary in value depending on the amount spent.  Kobo also featured their own $20 off coupon for Kobo wireless ereader purchases during the month of February.  Learn more about the Kobo eReader.
Kobo is the brand name that has been a little bit under the radar in the eReader market, but comes on strong nonetheless.  The Kobo wireless reader is for the digital book enthusiast who is not looking for a more ‘tablet like’ experience such as the NookColor, but is looking for a reasonably priced, high quality digital book reading experience that is comparable to the Kindle eBook Reader.

In the UK Borders supported the Elonex reader - indeed, I bought one from them and although users could still find titles for the device it soon disappeared without High Street support. However that was during the early days of eBooks and, as they say, 'fings is different now.'

Another one bites the dust - Bye Bye Borders

It's not exactly a surprise to those who keep an eye on the industry but yesterday Borders US went into bankruptcy. It's a sad thing to see yet another well known name in bookselling vanish. I was absolutely gutted when Borders closed its stores in the UK a little over two years ago and have missed my local Borders store ever since. The thing with Borders was that it stocked a lot of import magazines not seen in the likes of Waterstones - I used to pick up Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock and Wild West Magazine there. You don't see these titles anywhere else and now I have to buy by mail. Borders was also well stocked on the music front and carried non chart titles. I don't know if the situation is the same in the US but Borders UK operated in a section of the market that no one else has filled.

Borders put itself up for sale in March 2008 and speculation mounted that Barnes & Noble would buy it. Borders ended the process in November of that year without finding a bidder, and Pershing sold its Barnes & Noble stake in December 2008.

Ackman also approached Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, and Ronald Burkle, a large Barnes & Noble investor, about combining the companies, according to court documents and testimony from a lawsuit last year. Riggio declined to pursue a deal for Borders because he didn’t want any more exposure to retail space, court documents showed.

On Dec. 6, Pershing offered to help Borders fund an all- cash acquisition of Barnes & Noble for $16 a share, valuing the chain at about $960 million. At the time, Barnes & Noble declined to respond.
Now Borders’s bankruptcy could put $550 million in revenue up for grabs, Gary Balter, an analyst for Credit Suisse, wrote yesterday in a note to clients. The closings may increase sales at Barnes & Noble superstores 6 percent, said Balter, who has a “neutral” rating on Barnes & Noble shares.

Borders: the end is near

We lost them in the UK and I'm still mourning and now it looks certain that the US is about to lose the toubled book chain Borders. We only had a Borders superstore for three years in the nearby village of Talbot Green and I spent money in there each and every week, often visiting twice a week but the company pulled out of the UK market a couple of years ago.


The troubled Borders Group, the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States, announced Thursday it’s delaying payments to some publishers as it attempts to restructure its credit lines. The news sent shares tumbling 11 percent.

“As part of this potential refinancing, Borders has determined that it is necessary to restructure its vendor financing arrangements and is delaying payments to certain of its vendors,” company spokeswoman Mary Davis told Reuters. Although she declined to provide the names of the publishers, she said Borders was working with them to restructure their arrangements with the chain.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookseller reported earlier this month that an inability to secure adequate financing could result in a “liquidity shortfall” in early 2011, meaning the chain would run out of cash to conduct day-to-day business.

Borders eBooks

Borders have releaed their own eBook reader APP for the iPhone and iPad -

The Borders app is a custom version of the kobo app specifically dedicated to Borders’ online store. The app lets you buy books, and allows you to download already purchased eBooks, even if bought on a different platform.

The app is free and available in HERE

Borders surive as an online entity (just)

pring Design announced Thursday that its Alex e-reader will feature the Kobo-powered e-book store from Borders.

The two companies have signed an "agreement in principle," according to Spring Design. The Borders store, which will be available on Borders.com and and via a Borders mobile app, will feature more than 2 million titles.

"The combination of Borders' leadership in the book industry and Spring Design's innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers," Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design, said in a statement. "This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward."

"Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers-including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members-high quality content on the device of their choosing," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. "We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users."

Alex will be available starting Feb. 22 for $359 on www.springdesign.com. The device made its official debut this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

BORDERS UK GOES TITS UP

Not unexpected but a blow nonetheless - all of Borders UK stores will close for the final time this coming Tuesday -1,150 jobs will be lost. This is another major blow for the book industry as more and more business moves online.

We're back

I've got four days off from filming so it's time for the Archive to get down to some serious nonsense - unfortunately we've got bad news for book lovers everywhere. The Archive has been predicting this for some time but now it looks as if Borders decline is terminal.

From the BBC news:
Borders has stopped taking orders for new books on its website while the retailer "is in discussion with potential buyers".

The firm said that existing customer orders are also being delayed but will be fulfilled.

The Borders Entertainment part of the site - which sells DVDs, CDs and electrical items - continues to operate as normal.

Some publishers are also reported to have severed links with the retailer.

When customers try to order a book on the website they receive a message saying: "Sorry, title cannot be purchased."

Potential buyers

Reports have suggested that Borders, which has 45 stores in the UK, does not have enough cash to last until Christmas. It is thought it could go into administration if no buyer is found.

Talks with WH Smith reportedly collapsed last week. There is also speculation that HMV, the owner of Waterstones, is in talks to buy some of the stores. HMV refused to comment.

Borders, which also owns Books Etc, has suffered from increased competition from online retailers, such as Amazon, as well as supermarkets.

The Borders chain was originally owned by the US book giant of the same name but was sold in June 2007 to Risk Capital Partners.

Risk Capital then sold it on to the private equity firm Valco earlier this year.

THE ARCHIVE SAYS: Although it is a harsh market place with times being hard, particularly for the book trade which is in a period of change, some blame must be with Borders themselves - the stores here in the UK just don't feel like bookshops and from personal experience the majority of staff don't know much about books at all. The service has been shoddy for a long time now. Still I do hope a miracle happens and that Borders survive - only a few years ago they were my favourite shop in the entire world.

Borders bordering on

Borders UK chief executioner Philip Downer has ruled out store closures. Speaking with his fingers crossed behind his back, he said: "in the near future". However given his past history he would seem to define the near future as no more than six minutes.
Downer said that among the immediate plans was a working capital injection, as well as new borrowing. He told The Bookseller: "In the short term there will be greater cash flow as we open up a new borrowing line. Beyond that it's ensuring the range, systems and processes in store are in place in order to maximise trade this Christmas."
Downer refused to discuss how much was paid for the business, his own personal stake(Bet it was huge!!) , or how much money would be injected into the business. However, he said that the business did not go into any form of administration as part of the buyout.
Nevertheless, he was stark about the issues facing the company. He said: "It will be extremely challenging but it is for any business that is not selling the basic staples like food. But I wouldn't be talking if I didn't see an opportunity to sell more products to more people and make money. But make no mistake, this is a tough environment."

The fact that Borders is first and foremost a BOOK SHOP and not a grocery store seems to have escaped Downer.
Downer appeared to rule-out further store closures and redundancies. He said: "There was a pretty significant slimming down of the head count in the store support office over the past 18 months. We run a pretty tight ship. We've never overstaffed our stores." Borders UK sold the leases on five of its stores earlier this week to fashion retailer New Look, with more than 100 jobs expected to be lost as a result.
Downer stressed that no fundamental changes would be made to Borders' offer. He said: "It will continue to have books at its core with a broad range of entertainment products gathered around it. Books remain at the core but to maximise margin in stores, we have to provide as many products as possible."
Former parent company Borders Group in the US retains the 17% stake it had following its sale of the retailer to Luke Johnson's Risk Capital Partners in 2007.
The deal marks Johnson's exit from the business and he will no longer continue as chairman. Downer refused to answer whether he thought the retailer had received sufficient funding from Risk Capital Partners. He said: "We had an excellent relationship and achieved some extraordinary things. We extracted the business from the US and fundamentally restructured it. It was a very successful period."
He said that Borders would benefit from cash and systems management support from Valco. He added: "There is also a network of companies that VCP can access that will open some product sourcing opportunities."
A conference with general managers, head office staff and suppliers is planned within the next few months and Downer said he was looking forward to talking to publishers.
He refused to comment on the disruption to supply, which was reported in The Bookseller this week. Publishers had complained that they were being kept in the dark over the chain's future, since its emerged that it was seeking new investment. He said: "I'm aware that I haven't seen a great deal of the publishing community over the last few months but I am looking forward to re-engaging and talking to them about selling more books."

THE ARCHIVE TAKES ALL THIS WITH A PINCH OF SALT - My own experience with Borders these last couple of years has sadly not been positive - books that had been ordered failed to arrive, certain titles were not put on display and for some reason kept behind the counter and we're not talking porn here, some of the staff knew nothing about books and one or two of them looked at me blankly when I requested certain authors Nevertheless I was gutted to see my local Borders close down as I used to to get import magazines that were not available elsewhere.

WHAT A HAUL

Just got back from Borders Llantrisant - their official closing date is 8 August but there'll be no stock left well before then. This little haul pictured here came to £42.90 - a bargain but I'm gutted at the loss of the store. I spoke to a member of staff who asked me how I felt about all this, being a regular customer - I told him it sucks. He pretty much agreed.

The store was always busy and the closure is a complete shock. I'm gonna miss my local Borders.

PUBLISHING - IS THE FUTURE DIGITAL?????

E-Books - is this the way forward for the humble old book?

Will digital downloads ever replace the good old book? Will bytes do away with paper? Will pixels replace ink?

Never - no way - emphatically no way. There's some magical link between author and reader when you hold a book, the smell of the thing, the feel of it in your hand. When you buy an E-Book you don't even get anything physical, anything real. No real paper books are here to stay!!!!

However look at it this way.

When the MP3 revolution started people scoffed that these digital downloads could ever threaten physically owing a CD and yet these day CD's are all but obsolete, or at least quickly becoming so. The charts are now compiled largely from downloads. I'm a huge music fan - I've thousands of CD's as well as a decent vinyl collection. And yet these days I've always got my 80G Ipod Classic with me - it stores a few thousand albums and when I link it up to the car stereo I have bags of choice, not to mention the podcasts it includes as well as video. I still have my CD's but I rarely play them now. MP3's when recorded at the highest rate sound just as good as discs and I've even bought a few albums off Itunes in MP3 format.


If MP3's can win me across then they can win anyone.



The younger generation have no problems with downloaded music - so maybe digital books are the way we've all been looking for to encourage the younger element to start reading again. I've seen the Borders own E-books reader in action and it's superb - weighs next to nothing and it looks so cool. It can also store a couple of hundred books in its memory. Sony also have a reader on the market (pictured) and Amazon are championing the Kindle.

The fact is that these E-book readers are not only limited to digital books but can deliver your daily newspaper, blogs and anything else you care to throw at it. They are, in fact, super cool gadgets and no doubt we are only around the corner from mobile phones (a favourite with kids) being used to read digital books. Imagine it - kids will be able to buy an entire package digitally - the movie, the tie-in novel and the computer game and use them all on the one gadget.

Yep, the writing's on the wall. As much as we book lovers are horrified with the thought of real books vanishing, it is inevitable that digital books will eventually rule the roost. Real books will be around for some time but take an imaginative leap forward say ten years. Will paper books be looked upon as a primitive, not to mention wasteful way to deliver information?

The advantages of digital books are that nothing ever needs to be out of print - course the pricing needs to drop somewhat before market dominance is achieved. And there's no reason for it not too - after all the production costs with digital books are minuscule in comparison to real books. Books will also be easier to sell in different countries, no shipping costs and waiting around for the thing to arrive. Just click "BUY" and in seconds the book is on your PC, reader or phone. There will be a new phenomenon in books then - that of piracy which is an issue affecting both the movie and music industry. But the answer to this is to price the product fairly because the book industry would be ill equipped to survive widespread piracy.

There are so many ramifications to consider but it's no use burying heads in sand - the day of the E-Book is coming. What that means to myself as a writer, I'm unsure but at the same time I'd rather look to the positives. Being able to get my books to readers all over the world at the click of a button sounds good but not having shelves full of books is not so.

Real books will be here for some time yet and digital will probably find a comfortable co-existence but, like it or not, the days of digital books being the main medium are not that far distant. We can either embrace the technology or get swept aside.

A SAD DAY INDEED FOR BOOK LOVERS

Borders have been under performing for some time and today the company have announced more closures by trimming it's UK operations - the closures include my own local store at Talbot Green, Llantrisant. As soon as I heard the news I went to the store and found a manic 50% off everything sale going on. This is the busiest I've seen the store in months but it was with a heavy heart that I handed over £50 at the till for a hundred pounds worth of books, CD'S and DVD's. I really would rather pay the full price if it meant that Borders would stay.

The news is of a worry not only to book buyers but especially to writers who can only look on in dismay at the supermarkets growing share of the book market. The Society of authors released the following statement:

The Society of Authors believes that if any Borders stores close, further market share will be handed to supermarkets, which have made a big move into book retailing. The focus by Tesco and Asda on selling high volumes of a limited range of best-sellers will lead to 'fewer books by good authors' being published, the society believes. 'It is worrying and authors are very anxious about it. The high street is so important when it comes to publishers deciding what is published,' said Mark Le Fanu, the writer and general secretary of the Society of Authors.

On a personal note I am gutted as Borders served me well in that I was able to pick up many import books and magazines that I didn't see elsewhere and although I've been pleased to buy heavily discounted books in Asda and Tesco's the fact that they only seem to carry the bestsellers is indeed worrying. It was through Borders that I discovered writers like Richard Stark, Elmer Kelton, William Johnstone and others who don't have a big profile over here in the UK. I was also able to buy the entire Hard Case crime range in Borders and I've not seen these titles in any other book shop. W.H.Smith's is crap and stocks a similar range to the supermarkets only at much higher prices. How long will Smiths, an icon of the UK High Street survive? Once it would have been unthinkable to consider that Smiths would not be around forever but then two years ago if someone predicted Woolworth's closure they would have been laughed at.

Years ago I applauded the abolishment of the NET book aggrement but now I'm not so sure, with the aggrement in place the supermarkets wouldn't be able to discount so heavily which will eventually damage the book business. Not so long back the supermarkets were offering the Harry Potter hardcovers on the day of publiction for £1 - who benefits from this madness? The supermarkets treat the books as loss leaders but it looks now as if all this madness will affect real book lovers, people who enjoy browsing in good bookshops and being served by knowledgeable staff. In the supermarkets the staff don't even know anything about their Baked Beans let along what books a certain author's written.

"In a statement Phillip Downer, chief executive of Borders said: "Several weeks ago, the directors of Borders UK confirmed to our staff and our key suppliers that we were exploring funding opportunities. As a consequence of this action, we have now agreed to sell the leasehold interest on five of our stores to a major fashion retailer. The five stores are Blanchardstown, Llantrisant, London Colney, Oxford Street, and Swindon."

The Tainted Archive can reveal, exclusively that it is NEW LOOK who have bought the lease on all five stores - this has not yet been announced but I was told so by a disgruntled member of Borders staff.

To be honest though I've suspected this was on the cards. The staff at Llantrisant Borders are wonderful but the writings been on the wall - first some of Borders floor space was taken over by GAME, shelves were being left empty, GAME were allowed to set up one of those guitar heroes thingies in the middle of the store and book browsers were driven away by the awful electrionic noise made by all the kids playing on the demonstration game, books ordered would fail to arrive and the normally decent western section shrank to six bloody books, five of them Louis L'amour.

It's all so very bloody sad.

BORDER DRUMMING DOWN BUSINESS

Or at least my local Borders - the Llantrisant branch in South Wales. It's a large store - of the kind we call a superstore - now last year Game, the software giant, took over a corner of the store. That's okay - except today they have one of those Guitar Hero like things set up - Drum Hero to be precise. How can you browse the books with a load of kids bashing away in the corner to the Free song, All Right Now?

That really pissed me off - two year ago I would have said Borders was the best shop in the world but now they seem to be driving their core customers away with a lack of choice (many shelves are empty) and this constant electronic noise puts me off the blurbs.

It's like book browsing in an arcade.

Now whilst I can understand Game wanting their goods on show, even demo games they are smack bang in the middle of a bookshop. For christ sake - show a bit of common sense. Borders main role is as a bookseller but the staff here appear to be without a clue -over the last few months the range of titles has decreased and soon they will only be stocking the bestsellers - which you can get across the road at Tescos for much cheaper. I was loyal to Borders because they stocked all authors and titles, not just the top twenty sellers. And now I have to contend with a load of Cozy Powell wannabe kids.