WHAT'S UP WITH BORDERS ?

[Chuck Nessa]

Isn't a portion of the American electorate erecting fences around Borders?

[sidewinder]

I got a definite programmed response, like "Why, not at all! Move along, please......nothing to see here....."

Yes, then.

[zen archer]

The Borders i went into yesterday at the Atrium in Chestnut Hill had NOTHING in their jazz section.

Which in the past was very healthy , i was very surprised to see how depleted it was!

[jlhoots]

The Borders i went into yesterday at the Atrium in Chestnut Hill had NOTHING in their jazz section.

Which in the past was very healthy , i was very surprised to see how depleted it was!

Same in Santa Fe.

I took my 40% off coupon & a list of 15 jazz CDs. They didn't have a single one.

[kh1958]

The only CDs of interest they had at the Border's I visited last night were the last couple of rounds of Blue Note RVGs. Otherwise, their selection is less than poor. Even more ominously, I hardly ever even see anyone browsing in the CD section there anymore.

[paul secor]

The only CDs of interest they had at the Border's I visited last night were the last couple of rounds of Blue Note RVGs. Otherwise, their selection is less than poor. Even more ominously, I hardly ever even see anyone browsing in the CD section there anymore.

No reason for anyone to browse if there's not much there.

[wordsandsounds]

Like many, I don't buy there without a coupon, but I do still pick up the major releases at Borders like the new Charles Lloyd for 40% yesterday....

[Werf]

Schuler Books and Music, which is a Borders affiliate, had CD sales only 65 percent in 07 what they had in 06, according to a close source of mine. I was told this after mentioning that I had been in the store and noticed that while there were hundred or so customers browsing books, not one person was looking at CDs.

[Big Al]

The only CDs of interest they had at the Border's I visited last night were the last couple of rounds of Blue Note RVGs. Otherwise, their selection is less than poor. Even more ominously, I hardly ever even see anyone browsing in the CD section there anymore.

Really? Which Dallas store has the new RVGs? The one here in Arlington doesn't have any of them.

[kh1958]

The only CDs of interest they had at the Border's I visited last night were the last couple of rounds of Blue Note RVGs. Otherwise, their selection is less than poor. Even more ominously, I hardly ever even see anyone browsing in the CD section there anymore.

Really? Which Dallas store has the new RVGs? The one here in Arlington doesn't have any of them.

They have some of them anyway (and 3 less than yesterday)--the one at Greenville and Lovers.

[jlhoots]

Like many, I don't buy there without a coupon, but I do still pick up the major releases at Borders like the new Charles Lloyd for 40% yesterday....

That was one on my list. They didn't have it here.

[Shawn]

The Borders here (Virginia Beach) had an "okay" jazz section when I arrived here in July '07. I went in there a couple days ago and they were in the process of "shrinking" the jazz section so it would take up less floor space. There were 5 empty rows for every row with CDs in it. In the end it will be about 1/4 the size it was just 6 months ago.

Sad.

I remember the good ole' days (late 90's) of shopping at Borders and picking up all the Collector's Choice CDs for $9.99 or less. Them days is long gone.

[Dan Gould]

In the end, we might as well embrace the fact that we can find more items at better prices than the best stocked Borders of 5-10 years ago online. We can find OOP titles that we want on Ebay Stores or Amazon Marketplace at the same price that your local used CD store used to charge - if those titles had happened to walk in that particular store.

We lose the 'joy' of browsing, but I think most of us are already used to using the Web to find out about new titles/reissues that are coming or have arrived.

In the end, we still come out way ahead in this Brand New World.

[GregK]

Like many, I don't buy there without a coupon, but I do still pick up the major releases at Borders like the new Charles Lloyd for 40% yesterday....

That was one on my list. They didn't have it here.

I wonder if it's a regional thing. I was in two of the Ann Arbor Borders over the past week and between just those two there must have been 10-12 copies of it. Guess I'm lucky to be in Ann Arbor because it's nowhere near as bad as what others are reporting

[Chuck Nessa]

Last time I was in the AA store (last fall - during the EdgeFest) the selection was pathetic.

[Alec]

Our Borders here in New Hampshire is also gutting their CD section. I didn't even bother to go when I got the 40% off coupon.

We do have a fairly new Newbury comics store that recently received a good shipment of OJCs for $3.99.

Other that that there is a small independent that I avoid because they sell pseudo-legal drug paraphernalia, and there is a Best Buy whose selection is a joke.

For the most part it's online buying for me.

[zen archer]

AP

Borders Book Stores May Be Sold

Thursday March 20, 7:29 am ET

By David Runk, Associated Press Writer

Facing Cash Crunch, No. 2 Bookseller Borders Says It May Put Itself Up for Sale

DETROIT (AP) -- Borders, the nation's second-largest bookseller, said Thursday it may put itself up for sale and has lined up $42.5 million in financing to help the chain continue operations.

Borders has lost market share both to online companies and to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Borders Group Inc. said the financing commitment comes from investment funds affiliated with Pershing Square Capital Management LP, a major shareholder, and includes an offer to buy Borders' international businesses.

"We believe that consummation of the transactions under the commitment will make us fully funded for 2008, where absent these measures, liquidity issues may otherwise have arisen in the next few months," Borders CEO George Jones said in a statement.

Borders said it is reviewing a wide range of possibilities, including the sale of only part of the company or certain divisions.

After postponing its scheduled fourth-quarter earnings results Wednesday, the company reported net income of $64.7 million, or $1.10 a share, compared with a loss of $73.6 million, or $1.22, during the same period last year.

Revenue fell 2 percent to $1.35 billion, from $1.37 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profits of $1.42 per share on sales of $1.37 billion.

Quarterly results included a $7 million loss from the sale of Irish and British businesses for $13 million.

In yet another sign of pressures on retailers nationwide, Borders suspended quarterly dividends, which it will plow into operations.

Last March, Borders said it wouldn't provide future sales or earnings guidance during a restructuring, but it said it anticipated returning to earnings per share growth in 2008. On Thursday, Jones said that may take a longer than expected.

"Overall, we believe that the 2009 financial targets we set back in March of last year remain attainable, yet within the current economic environment, we will be slowed in our progress," Jones said.

The sales agreement for international businesses announced Thursday gives Borders the option until Jan. 15 to require Pershing Square to pay $125 million for the international business, which includes Borders' Paperchase, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore subsidiaries. But Borders said it must pursue the sale of those operations first before any deal with Pershing.

"This will be a challenging year for retailers due to continued uncertainty in the economic environment," Jones said. "Looking forward to 2008 and beyond, the company determined that additional capital was required to execute our operating plan, and as a result we began to explore various financing options.

"The current credit environment has made many of these alternatives prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable."

Borders group a year ago announced a restructuring that included a fresh face for its U.S. superstores and a jump back into online bookselling. Borders opened the first of its new concept stores last month near its headquarters, and has said its new Borders.com Web site was to make its debut shortly.

Ann Arbor-based Borders said J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. have been retained as the company's financial advisers to assist the company as it explores strategic alternatives.

The company said it can give no assurances that a transaction of any kind will occur.

Edited March 20, 2008 by zen archer

[papsrus]

Just stopped by my neighborhood Borders this morning (despite a self-imposed moratorium on buying) and the jazz section was completely gutted. A couple of shelves of basically mainstream stuff, some compilations, that's it.

[wordsandsounds]

Just stopped by my neighborhood Borders this morning (despite a self-imposed moratorium on buying) and the jazz section was completely gutted. A couple of shelves of basically mainstream stuff, some compilations, that's it.

Less than a week ago I thought a lot of you were just overstating things. Then I walked into, what has been historically, the best Borders in Orlando for Jazz and saw that the 80 foot section gutted as well. Once condensed and made to look normal I would be suprised if it takes up a third of the space it used too...

At least this will keep me from splurging

[A Lark Ascending]

I was in Birmingham (UK) today for work reasons and popped into Borders, which occupies prime space in a relatively new flagship shopping centre. The music section was pitiful.

But then Zavvi (what used to be Virgin) was as bad; only HMV had some out of the ordinary stuff (I picked up a Shorty Rogers disc and a Brew Moore 2CD).

I really think the record companies should just give up on making CDs. Either digitalise it themselves or licence it to someone who cares and get it out there. Once done, they can forget about it yet it will slowly earn them a steady stream of income.

Very little seems to be finding its way into stores, if the UK is anything to go by. I won't be going out of my way to go record shopping in the near future.

[BERIGAN]

In the end, we might as well embrace the fact that we can find more items at better prices than the best stocked Borders of 5-10 years ago online. We can find OOP titles that we want on Ebay Stores or Amazon Marketplace at the same price that your local used CD store used to charge - if those titles had happened to walk in that particular store.

We lose the 'joy' of browsing, but I think most of us are already used to using the Web to find out about new titles/reissues that are coming or have arrived.

In the end, we still come out way ahead in this Brand New World.

Well....you are correct in that we have a lot of opportunities to purchase jazz that didn't exist before....but, I know that 10 years ago, I spent hours looking thru all the jazz cds at Tower and Borders and found(and purchased) tons of stuff I'd never find online...compilations, really small label stuff that you just can't find in a search on Amazon(Or would even be aware of their existence). And I think a fair number of cds we see on Amazon sellers and Ebay are out of print....why would some of these companies go to the effort to restore and release the music, if no brick and mortar stores will take a chance on selling them???

Perhaps I am just seeing this from the early jazz perspective... many of these cds have no track listings online, recording dates...no reviews, no nothing....

Edited March 20, 2008 by BERIGAN

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

The jazz section at the store down by Pentagon City has been reduced to the size of a breadbasket. I bought a Pat Martino 'El Hombre' RVG on Thur....cracked it open last night and my cd player stopped reading on track 4. A bad RVG?

[Harold_Z]

The jazz section at the store down by Pentagon City has been reduced to the size of a breadbasket. I bought a Pat Martino 'El Hombre' RVG on Thur....cracked it open last night and my cd player stopped reading on track 4. A bad RVG?

I'm familiar with that Borders - I visit relatives in Alexandria at least once or twice a year.

How about the one off of King Street near the Madeleine's? Not sure what town that is, but if you drive out of Old Town Alexandria it's on the right maybe 3 or 4 miles from Old Town.

[connoisseur series500]

The jazz section at the store down by Pentagon City has been reduced to the size of a breadbasket. I bought a Pat Martino 'El Hombre' RVG on Thur....cracked it open last night and my cd player stopped reading on track 4. A bad RVG?

Weizy starting to buy cds w/ organ playing? There's hope yet! Great choice, btw.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

The jazz section at the store down by Pentagon City has been reduced to the size of a breadbasket. I bought a Pat Martino 'El Hombre' RVG on Thur....cracked it open last night and my cd player stopped reading on track 4. A bad RVG?

Weizy starting to buy cds w/ organ playing? There's hope yet! Great choice, btw.

I know it! Funny that you remember that! It was that Ike Quebec 'Spring' one that really soured me. I'm trying to swerve off the 'consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds' track and check out more organ stuff!