20 Facts About Borders Group

1.

Borders Group, Inc was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,167
2.

Borders Group operated 175 stores in the Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment, including Waldenbooks, Borders Express, Borders airport stores, and Borders Outlet stores.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,168
3.

In February 2011, Borders Group applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and began liquidating 226 of its stores in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,169
4.

Borders Group formerly operated stores in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,170
5.

Original Borders Group bookstore was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, where it was founded in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders Group during their undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Michigan.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,171
6.

The first Borders Group bookshop opened at 209 South State Street, Ann Arbor in 1971.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,172
7.

Borders Group was acquired in 1992 by Kmart, which had acquired mall-based book chain Waldenbooks eight years earlier.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,173
8.

In 1994, Borders Group briefly operated a mall-based toy store called All Wound Up, which sold toys and novelty items.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,174
9.

Borders Group opened a franchise store in the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, UAE in October 2006.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,175
10.

In 2004, Borders Group reached an agreement with Starbucks subsidiary Seattle's Best Coffee to operate cafes in its domestic superstores under the Seattle's Best brand name.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,176
11.

In March 2007, Borders Group announced it would scale down the number of Waldenbooks outlets it had by half, to about 300, in the next year.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,177
12.

Also in March 2007, Borders Group announced the disposal of its Ireland and UK businesses, including its Books etc.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,178
13.

In 2008, Borders Group opened 14 concept stores nationwide, which included a Digital Center, offering select electronic devices such as MP3 players, digital photo frames, and the Sony Reader.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,179
14.

Borders Group launched a customer appreciation program called Borders Rewards.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,180
15.

In March 2008, Borders Group announced the intention to sell the chain because of financial difficulties.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,181
16.

Also in 2008, Borders Group signed an agreement with Lulu Press to create Borders Group Personal Publishing.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,182
17.

Borders Group announced the liquidation and closing of 226 stores.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,183
18.

Group of Borders creditors rejected the Direct Brands takeover bid in July 2011.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,184
19.

Books-A-Million later resurrected its offer to buy portions of Borders Group, purchasing the leases for 14 stores primarily in New England and Pennsylvania.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,185
20.

However, international Borders Group stores are still operating in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Malaysia.

FactSnippet No. 1,335,186