Borders is finally ready to present their business plan to creditors this week, the WSJ reports, though the paper has few details on what Borders will propose. The lead trumpets “major cost reductions” that include over $30 million in rent reductions. Of course the bookseller has also proposed paying out $8.3 million in executive bonuses, and the last time they reported earnings in December 2010, they lost almost $75 million in the third quarter alone. The company will leave their Ann Arbor home–which has been up for sale since last fall, portions of which Borders had sub-leased out before filing […]
Bookstores
Still in the REDGroup: More Borders Stores to Close; Whitcoulls Airport Stores Sold
The REDGroup Retail bankruptcy march continues, as administrators Ferrier Hodgson announced today that they will close 16 more Borders stores in Australia over the next 8 weeks, with 510 staffers expected to be laid off. The closings will leave just 9 Borders stores left on the continent. In addition, Ferrier Hodgson sold 10 Whitcoulls airport stores to Australian-based travel retail specialist LS Travel Retail Pacific for an undisclosed sum. The shops at four New Zealand airports will be rebranded under the Relay name over the next few weeks. Bookseller+Publisher National Business Review
Bookselling: BN’s First YA Pick; Angus & Robertson Franchises Declare Independence; Store Closings; and More
The latest Barnes & Noble Recommends selection is a children’s book for the first time: Gary D. Schmidt’s middle-grade novel OKAY FOR NOW. Clarion says they have a 150,000-copy first printing and a ten-city author tour planned. A further twist in the ongoing REDGroup Retail bankruptcy saga comes from the 25 Angus & Robertson franchise stores, who have been unhappy with how administrators Ferrier Hodgson have been handling matters. So much so that the stores have exercised their right to terminate on the basis of A&R’s “continued breach of the franchise agreement”, according to The Bookshop Bowral owner Marie Fitzpatrick, acting […]
Borders Revises Recent Sales
In Borders’ extensive statement of financial affairs filed with the bankruptcy court last week, already covered here in general, we note that the company appears to have revised downward their estimate of sales prior to declaring bankruptcy. The statement puts fiscal 2010 sales at $2.177 billion, which is 5 percent lower than the sales of “approximately $2.3 billion” the company reported when they filed for Chapter 11 protection in February. That means our initial estimate of the decline in sales during 2010 was too low; by the new figures, Borders’ sales fell at least 17 percent over the past year. […]
What Borders Paid Creditors Before Filing for Bankruptcy; 12 More Angus & Robertson Shops to Close; and More
A new filing in federal bankruptcy court yesterday indicated how much money Borders paid creditors in the 90 days leading up to its Chapter 11 filing on February 16, and how those payments were dispensed. Looking at the largest publishing houses, Random House and Penguin received approximately $24 million, but Penguin received two bulk payments of about $12 million on November 19, while Random collected payments through February 3, though nothing more sizable than $1.6m received on December 24. HarperCollins received $14.1 million, with $12.5m paid by December 9, and nearly all of Macmillan’s $6.8m paid was received from Borders […]
A Look at Borders’ Liquidation Process as More Leases Are Rejected
Bloomberg takes a closer look at the Borders liquidation process and how it’s being handled by Hilco, who agreed to pay Borders 85.75 percent of the “cost value” of all merchandise, somewhere between $180.6 million and $204 million. But one of Hilco’s competitors in the liquidation auction, Great American Group director Scott Carpenter, bowed out because the firm “didn’t think you could achieve those values and make a profit.” Previously Borders told the bankruptcy court they expected liquidation sales to bring in about $175 million. Bloomberg In addition, federal bankruptcy court filings indicate the approval of nine Borders lease rejections in […]