Borders Group (sometimes written BORDERS) (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 owns a majority stake in Paperchase Products Limited, a leading gifts and stationery retailer in the United Kingdom, and showcases their products in their stores, as well as Books etc., Tim Waterstone's other, mostly London-based bookshop chain. In 2004, Borders reached an agreement with Starbucks subsidiary Seattle's Best Coffee, and is converting their in-store cafes to the new brand. Some of Borders' in-store cafes in Australia have Gloria Jeans-branded coffee houses in place of Starbucks.
 | |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: BGP) |
|---|---|
| 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 its community. A sister company, Book Inventory Systems (1971-1994), was founded at the same time to serve as a wholesaler for, and provide the brothers' custom inventory system to, regional independent bookstores such as John Rollins, Thackeray's, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Until Borders Superstore expansion occurred in the early 1990s, BIS serviced more independent stores than Borders stores. Former Hickory Farms president Robert F. DiRumaldo was hired in the late 1980s to expand the company exponentially. K-Mart acquired Borders' rival Waldenbooks in 1984, but a stock buyback enabled Borders and Waldenbooks to form its own corporation, the Borders Group. As of 2006, there are about 462 Borders stores in the United States, and around 700 Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores in U.S. malls. Borders also has another 41 stores in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, and 35 Books etc. stores throughout Britain. However due to the fierce competition in the UK marketplace a number of these Books etc. stores will be closed and will be replaced by larger Borders stores in retail parks on the edge of town, like in the case of the Manchester Books etc. store at the Printworks that was replaced by Borders at Manchester Fort.
The music sections of Borders stores feature a wide variety of music styles and artists and typically have 100 or so current releases set up for individual listening.
Franchise Stores
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 world's biggest mall with 7,500,000 square feet (700,000 m²). Incidentally, the store in Berjaya Times Square is advertised as being the world's 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, which occupies 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 stores in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Ann Arbor are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW). www.bordersunion.org.
Muhammad cartoon controversy
On March 29, 2006, in response to the controversy over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, Borders Group announced that Waldenbooks and Borders bookstores would not carry the April-May issue of Free Inquiry magazine that contained the controversial cartoons.[1] Borders Group did carry an issue of Harper's the next month which also featured the cartoons.
See also
External links
- Official Borders site powered by Amazon
- BordersStores.com. The other official Borders website, with an online catalog.
- Official Waldenbooks and Borders Express site powered by Amazon
- History of Borders
- Borders employees' union website at www.bordersunion.org
- Borders Group stock information
- Borders engages in self-censorship