I find the recent Borders announcement to shutter the remaining 399 stores to be incredibly sad. Not only does the dissolution of Borders mark the end of an era for those of us who have ever spent a few days and evenings in tucked away in the corner of a bookstore sipping a coffee, but the shareholders who bought stock in Borders over the years are now left with nothing to show for it.
And it didn't necessarily have to be that way. Unfortunately, Borders lost the faith of its creditors and vendors during the 2008-2009 recession, which exacerbated their financial difficulties. Instead of having the option to pay book agents and publishers ninety days later, these folks started demanding payment upfront because they questioned Borders' ability to pay them back. Well, this only made things worse. Borders was in no position to meet these demands--book sales were down because a lot of shoppers found ways to buy the exact same products online for only a fraction of the price, and Borders business model broke.
They had to pay high rental rates on the stores they used, and they simply weren't able to get enough customers to throw out $29.99 for a new hardcover book release. When the country is in a recession, someone is going to just go online and buy the same book for $5 instead of spending $30. The cracks in the business model had been getting bigger as online retail became increasingly entrenched, and an American recession finally drowned this pillar of the literary community.
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