Borders Group NYSE: BGP is an international bookseller based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Borders is a Fortune 500 company, and is (as of 2005) the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States (after Barnes & Noble), selling a wide variety of books, CDs, DVDs, periodicals, as well as gifts and stationery. Borders recently bought a majority stake in Paperchase Products Limited, a leading gifts and stationery retailer in the United Kingdom, and showcases their products in their stores. In 2004, Borders reached an agreement with Starbucks subsidiary Seattle's Best Coffee, and is converting all their in-store cafes to the new brand.
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Specialty) |
| Founded | 1971 Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Headquarters | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Key people | Gregory Josefowicz, CEO & Chairman Edward Wilhelm, CFO |
| Products | Books, Maps, Compact Discs, DVDs, Calendars |
| Revenue |  $3.903 billion USD (2004) |
Number of employees | 15,005 |
| Website | www.bordersgroupinc.com/ |
The original Borders bookstore is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it was founded in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders. The Borders brothers' inventory system tailored each store's offerings to the community it was in. This may have contributed to the chain's rapid expansion nationwide. K-Mart acquired Borders and its rival Waldenbooks in 1994, but a stock buyback enabled Borders and Waldenbooks to form its own corporation, the Borders Group. There are now approximately 462 Borders stores across the United States, and around 700 Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores in malls across America. Borders also has another 44 international stores outside the country in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Singapore, and 35 Books etc. stores throughout Britain. In April, 2005, Borders Group opened its first franchise store with Malaysia's Berjaya Group Berhad in Kuala Lumpur. It is located in Berjaya Times Square, which is arguably the worlds biggest mall with 7,500,000 square feet (700,000 m²). Incidentally, the store in Berjaya Times Square is advertised as being the worlds biggest Borders at 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²). This is almost twice the next largest bookstore in Malaysia, MPH Bookstore at 1 Utama, Bandar Utama 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²).
The essayist Sven Birkerts worked at the flagship Borders store on State Street in Ann Arbor during the 1970s and wrote about his experiences in The Gutenberg Elegies. Writer Benjamin Cheever also wrote about his brief tenure as a Borders employee in Selling Ben Cheever.
Diversity
Borders received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report.
Unions
Borders retail employees at two store locations in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Ann Arbor are currently represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW). More information about Borders workers union organizing efforts and an employee discussion board can be found at www.bordersunion.org.
See also
External links
- Holiday Storybook mini-site & gift recommendation tool
- Borders Holiday Gift Website
- Official Borders site run by Amazon
- Official Waldenbooks and Borders Express site run by Amazon
- BordersStores.com. The other Official Borders Website.
- History of Borders
- Borders employees' union website at www.bordersunion.org
- Borders Group stock information