Sussex-based chain British Bookshops as gone into administration, with recovery specialists Zolfo Cooper on board and Simon Appell, Fraser Gray, and Stuart Mackellar appointed as joint administrators. The news comes less than a year after managing director John Simpson led a buyout from turnaround specialists Endless, and added 12 stores for a total of 51 across the UK. Earlier today the Bookseller reported that Macmillan Distribution had stopped shipping stock to the retailer for non-payment of its October account, despite repeated assurances the bill would be paid by the end of December. One publisher said the store “has been refusing […]
Bookstores
The Mystery Bookstore To Close on January 31
Just days after Borders closed its Westwood store, the west side Los Angeles neighborhood learned it will lose another: The Mystery Bookstore will close its doors on January 31. In a note to authors and customers sent Tuesday afternoon, owners Kirk Pasich and Pamela Woods said, “We simply cannot compete with the Amazons of the world and the impact of the economy.” A note on the store’s website adds “We’ve been proud and grateful to serve you. We treasure the friendships we’ve made through the store, and hope to keep them, wherever we all scatter, as we keep reading and […]
Bookstore Closings: Syracuse Borders Joins Unconfirmed Others, As Portsmouth, NH’s Gulliver’s Announces Closing, Too
Add to the list of upcoming Borders’ closing their outlet in Syracuse’s big Carousel Center mall. A supervisor there tells the local paper they will close some time in March, citing only “a lease situation.” It is the only bookstore in the big shopping center. That closing comes on top of the 14 Borders that closed last week, and another approximately 17 stores that publishers have been told will close by the end of January (though the company has so far declined to confirm that number, even though publishers have been provided a list of stores and expected closing dates). […]
The Latest On Borders, As More Executives Leave
Per our report yesterday that additional executives were leaving Borders beyond the two names disclosed in Monday’s SEC filing, the WSJ reports that the recent high-level job reductions also include svp for business development Larry Norton, svp for marketing Bill Dandy, and vp of real estate Tony Grant. Separately, anonymous Borders employees say via an online message board that three of five regional vice presidents were also let go. They report that in a conference call among general managers, employees were told the store network has been rezoned into just two regions. The NYT adds that publishers indicate Borders executives […]
Borders Counsel Carney and CIO Laverty Both Resign; Ingram Says They Will Keep Shipping
Just as Borders is preparing for complex negotiations with vendors and lenders, they will be doing so without the assistance of EVP, general counsel Thomas Carney, who has served as the bookseller’s top attorney since 1994. He resigned on Sunday, noted by Borders in a terse SEC filing after the close of the market yesterday. SVP, chief information officer Scott Laverty resigned as well, on Monday. Laverty joined the company in May 2009, charged with overseeing the “overall vision, strategic direction and tactical execution of all information technology systems and solutions.” Spokesperson passes along the company’s statement: “As previously reported, we are […]
How Borders Negotiations’ Might Go
Last Friday Borders’ stock fell over 22 percent on the news of delayed payments to major vendors, taking share below the one dollar minimum required on a long-term basis for listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Borders spokesperson Mary Davis confirms our report from Thursday based on discussions with some of those vendors that the Borders executive team will be in New York this week to negotiate with the publishers whom they owe money. (While the company is in continuing discussions over replacement financing, Davis says this week’s New York meetings are focused on publishers only.) NBN head Jed […]