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Sep 20, 2011

[Edited 9/19/11 8:46am]

Another one bites the dust.

i worked at borders years ago and loved it!

I really enjoyed Borders, and will miss them.

Barnes & Nobles isn't as "browser friendly"...but I suppose that might have been part of the problem, eh?

I worked for Borders for 14 years, and was laid off during the first wave of closures this past spring.

During that time, I met many lovely, talented, creative, bright people, all often working under the same roof at one time.

I realize now that that's what I miss most about the place: literate, intelligent, funny co-workers.

I took it for granted.

Trolling for other retail manager jobs since then, I see what type of employees a book store brought in versus other retail establishments. The comparisons aren't pretty.

I'm officially no longer looking for work in retail.

In terms of what happened to the company, it was very sad to watch as over the last decade each CEO brought in was more clueless and hapless than the last, installing worthless metrics that GM's were under constant pressure to meet, although there is only one worth a goddamn- same store sales vs. last year. Everything else is worthless bullshit, and gradually all of the fun was sucked out of coming to work, and everyone always felt the pressure to live up to this or that bullshit number, or else.

Surely, there is a very special place in Hell reserved for the monumental fuckhole that was and is Ron Marshall, an imbecile of epic proportions who was sold to the employees as a "turnaround specialist", a double over with laughter notion if there ever was one.

It was left to his successor - a much nobler man to be sure- to preside over the death rites of a once great company.

[Edited 9/19/11 14:32pm]

Goodbye Borders! I went there a few times since the liquidation sale began. The last time was about two weeks ago. Since then, I wanted to go one more time, but didn't make it. I might drive-by later today for a final glimpse. That was my pitstop before going to Trader Joe's or inside Stonestown Mall. Ugh going there will never be the same.

Borders and B&N killed a lot of small bookstores, I wonder if we will see them make any kind of a comeback

NDRU said:

Borders and B&N killed a lot of small bookstores, I wonder if we will see them make any kind of a comeback

i think the small book stores are making a comeback, there are new ones in my area that are nice, and seem to make a lot of business.

kimrachell said:

NDRU said:

Borders and B&N killed a lot of small bookstores, I wonder if we will see them make any kind of a comeback

i think the small book stores are making a comeback, there are new ones in my area that are nice, and seem to make a lot of business.

I know this is the era of the Kindle and Nook, but one of the more novel and awesome things that my hometown has done had to do with a Barnes and Noble store which left its location and moved to a mall location about a mile away. The city took over the vacant B&N property and put a public library branch in its place. They even leased out the coffeehouse space to a local shop.

Barnes and nobles will be next (It may be ten years out). Music brick stores aren't needed anymore-the same goes for book stores. Sure there will be some book stores primarily with used books mixed with new. But the digital age has changed the landscape. Libraries eventually will be transformed into community centers with computers, nooks or kindles that they lend out.

The only thing I am sad for are the loss of jobs for more people. As for the company itself, meh.

I kind of subscribe to the belief that corporations have basically killed free enterprise and made the country WORSE in the big picture, so fuck 'em.

How many privately owned small businesses (bookstores mostly) were forced to close as big corp Borders and their big money moved in and made it impossible to compete? I'm betting many.

728huey said:

kimrachell said:

i think the small book stores are making a comeback, there are new ones in my area that are nice, and seem to make a lot of business.

I know this is the era of the Kindle and Nook, but one of the more novel and awesome things that my hometown has done had to do with a Barnes and Noble store which left its location and moved to a mall location about a mile away. The city took over the vacant B&N property and put a public library branch in its place. They even leased out the coffeehouse space to a local shop.

That is interesting. Infact I wondered how B&N and Borders stayed in business. They are enormous places, and a lot of people treat them like libraries in that they grab a book and sit down for an hour or two, then leave without buying anything.

So that's a good idea, except that libraries keep losing funding too and having their hours cut.

Maybe a coffee shop that supports the library could help