In reporting their recent quarterly earnings, Agree Realty took a $7.7 million impairment charge related to four leases for Borders stores that are currently being liquidated and another two stores that were closed earlier in the year. They retain exposure on additional store leases, as well as the lease on the Borders headquarters building in Ann Arbor. The company reduced their dividend by 22 percent because of Borders, which they say “should provide the company with sufficient liquidity and flexibility to accommodate any further development in the bankruptcy.”Crains Detroit Last Friday the Borders bankruptcy judge declined to hear arguments on […]
Closing
Non-Bankruptcy Bookstore News
Four St. Louis bookstores–Left Bank Books, Pudd’nhead Books, Main Street Books and Subterranean Books (which has said it might have to close this year)–have formed the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance. They have a Facebook page, a joint website in the works, and are planning a bookstore tour. And they expect to welcome other area stores to the alliance. Nikki Furrer of Pudd’nhead Books says “This is a chance for all of us to promote St. Louis and stores that people here have not heard of.” Pasadena’s Vroman’s is “very sad to see Borders go, but we’re also excited for […]
Store News: Diesel Malibu to Close; USA Today Celebrates Surviving Indies; NC Privacy Suit Settled, and More
Diesel Bookstore in Malibu will close shortly, but co-owners John Evans and Alison Reid hope to find a new location in which to reopen before the end of the year. They blamed a “a protracted legal skirmish” along with low sales, saying the retail center in which they are located turned into a “ghost town” after new owners took over. Diesel’s Brentwood and Oakland stores remain open, and are said to be doing well. LAist The NYT notes that in addition to the 31 layoffs at Powell’s, the bookseller “reduced its work force by about 40 employees in the last […]
Bookstore News
Diane Cox has bought Whittier, CA’s The Little Old Bookshop and will reopen it this week as Half Off Books. Item Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., will re-open Monday in an expanded location. The store will have an Espresso Book Machine and host events.La Canada Online But The Muses Bookstore in Morganton, NC is closing after 40 years, calling the rise of ereading the “last nail” in the coffin. Item And Seattle bookshop Twice Sold Tales will relinquish its store in the city’s University District and sell books exclusively online.Seattle P-I
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). […]