You've probably heard the news on radio and TV this week, if not online, that the troubled Borders Group was going to file for bankruptcy this week. Today they did so, and as part of the restructuring, they'll be closing almost a third of their stores (200). Borders hopes to start selling off inventory, furniture etc. from the closing locations as soon as this weekend to take advantage of Presidents Day sales and shopping.
Borders isn't going away as this is a restructuring. That means your ebooks and digital account (and Kobobooks) should be safe and sound.
Borders faces fierce competition from Barnes & Noble, Amazon and even Sony in the burgeoning ebook arena. While Amazon's kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook and Sony Readers have enjoyed excellent sales and growth, Borders never created a solid branded product line. Instead they offered the mid-range Kobo Reader, Sony Readers and a variety of budget (and generally terrible) color Android ebook readers that even the staff in our local stores said they couldn't recommend. Beyond bricks and mortar restructuring, Borders needs to create a cohesive brand for readers and ebooks, if it's not too late, if they want to compete in the brave new world of digital reading.
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-------------------- Lisa Gade Editor in Chief, MobileTechReview
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