Sadly, Borders Group, Inc. is in trouble and it’s up for sale. More and more of these companies continue to drop as consumers pinch pennies on wanna-have but don’t-need items. I listened to analysts talking about this on Bloomberg yesterday, and they don’t seem to really get it. There was a discussion of ways in which Borders can improve sales, and one of them was new book club memberships to be offered by Borders. “New” book club memberships (whatever that means) won’t save this business. People don’t want to buy memberships when they can shop online and have greater selection, better prices, and enjoy the surfing experience. Borders is also going to “face out” more of its books, but that’s not a long-term solution either.
Borders problems go beyond the looming economic pickle, however. As book lovers know, surfing for books online leads to you discovering many other books that weren’t formerly on your radar map. Soon the wish list grows and grows, but it’s a fun way to relax. Plus you come across great reviews and interesting people with fabulous book lists that lead you unto even more discoveries. Book shopping online is a better and cheaper experience for most people. Then there’s those great deals on used books — I even find good books at .01 plus $3.99 shipping.
As much as I love bookstores, two big book chains can’t survive in this era. It’s too costly for them to operate, and people just don’t read anymore. Each new generation reads less than the one before it. (Read “Why People Read Less and Less.”) The large-selection, used book stores and the magazine racks are better bets for survival.
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I’d go with dropping all cd retail sales and renting out that floor space for a fixed income to a local food chain. This would also coincide nicely with Starbucks’ recent position on decreasing rtd&e and food sales. Assuming that Starbucks has the same vision for it’s Seattle’s Best chain that it does for its own.
I think that 2 stores could make it, but Borders will have to become competative, and probably push their online version sales. I and a lot of other consmers still like to go and look at a book to see if it worth it or if it is what I’m looking for. I agree that the competition is fierce since the internet.
One problem with many bricks-and-mortar stores and especially bookstores, is people’s tendency to window shop the physical store then order the book from Amazon…or even just check it out from the local library.
In the central South, at least, Books-A-Million is a chain which is coming on strong. So that is another problem for Borders.
Somebody said, online you can get any book you want but at a used bookstore you can get books you did not know you wanted butwere glad you found.
one store that is doing as well as ever, I think, is New England Mobile Book Fair here in Massachusetts. half of their store is reminders, but they are awesome and you can always find really good stuff really really cheap.
the brick and mortar stores can only survive if they start to provide enough value to justify their higher prices. Amazon has them beat in many fronts. I don’t agree with you that people read less now than in previous generations. That article you linked doesn’t have the rigor to deserve a link from mises.org either.
Yes, this phenomenon doesn’t quite apply to Tokyo. There are soooo many bookstores here that cater to, ahem, every taste. There are used bookstores, new books, old books, every kind of bookstore. I guess, due to the lifestyle here (bound to lots of train travel), books are the way to go. Also, nintendo ds’s and sony psp’s do well here.
So don’t give up on the bookstore yet. And bookstores here are always full of people.
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