Bad News at Borders Despite the peppy language of their earnings release, Borders stumbled in their fiscal second quarter, caught by rising expenses and lower sales in the UK, even as US sales were on target. Investment in rebranding ailing Waldenbooks locations as Borders Express stores (44 outlets were reopened in the quarter, along with 36 upgraded Borders — now with coffee and stationery!) and low-margin Harry Potter sales are blamed for the plunge in net income, down to $1.3 million, from $7.9 million a year ago. Same-store US sales rose 1.8 percent at the superstores and 1.9 percent at […]
