The rise and fall of Borders: By the numbers

After 40 years, the once-ubiquitous bookstore chain appears headed for liquidation

The rise and fall of Borders: By the numbers
(Image credit: Brooks Kraft/CORBIS)

After filing for bankruptcy protection in February and closing nearly one-third of its stores, Borders now stands on the brink of a total liquidation, after a bidding deadline passed Sunday evening without anyone making an offer on the bookstore chain ahead of a bankruptcy auction planned for Tuesday. How did it come to this? Here, a brief guide, by the numbers, to the rise and fall of the nation's second-largest bookstore chain:

40

Number of years Borders has been in existence. It was once the second largest bookstore chain in the country, behind Barnes & Noble.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

1,329

Number of stores Borders operated in 2005

405

Number of Borders stores still in operation

717

Number of Barnes & Noble stores still in operation

200

Number of Borders stores that were closed earlier this year, after the company filed for bankruptcy protection

$1.28 billion

Assets Borders listed in its bankruptcy petition

$1.29 billion

Liabilities Borders listed in its bankruptcy petition

$215 million

Amount Jahm Najafi, a private equity investor, offered for Borders earlier this month, in addition to the assumption of $220 million in debt. Creditors objected to the offer

$74 million

Net income loss Barnes & Noble reported for fiscal year 2011

$858.1 million

E-commerce sales, including for Nook e-readers, reported by Barnes & Noble for 2011, a 49.8 percent increase over 2010

7

Number of years, from 2001 to 2008, that Borders partnered with Amazon for online sales, rather than developing its fledgling online bookstore. The Amazon partnership "was viewed by many industry observers as costly to Borders' future," says the International Business Times. Borders also failed to bring its own e-reader to the market to compete with Amazon, as Barnes & Noble did with the Nook.

11,000

Approximate number of Borders employees who stand to lose their jobs if the remaining stores close

Sources: Huffington Post, International Business Times, Internet Retailer, News Tribune, NPR, Portfolio, Wall St. Journal

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us