Borders Group plans to scale back its multimedia inventory -- including CDs and DVDs -- and will focus on book sales, offering more children's, cooking and biography titles. The return to its roots as
an outlet for serious readers is part of an effort to revitalize sales following another year of losses, Jaclyn Trop reports.
The company will concentrate on customer outreach "to regain
our status as a bookseller for serious readers," new CEO Ron Marshall said Wednesday during a conference call. Over the years, the store's focus expanded beyond books and magazines to include music,
gifts and stationery, as well as food through a partnership with Starbucks subsidiary Seattle's Best Coffee.
Jim McTevia, managing partner of turnaround firm McTevia & Associates, says
Borders will probably be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year. "The economy is worse off than it was last year, and they lost a ton of money last year," McTevia says. "The
first-quarter results will probably be the nail in the coffin." Borders employs 30,000 people at 1,100 stores globally.
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