Borders asks bankruptcy judge for more time to make decision on store leases
Ann Arbor-based Borders wants to take until Jan. 12, 2012, to renegotiate or reject leases with landlords, according to its latest bankruptcy filing, the Detroit Free Press is reporting.
The Borders at Arborland in Ann Arbor.
Angela Smith | For AnnArbor.com
The bookstore chain faces several industry shifts that led to its bankruptcy filing, including the growth of online sales and e-book technology.
Yet real estate is one pressing issue facing the book seller as it closes 200 stores and attempts to reposition itself to keep hundreds of remaining stores operating.
According to its initial bankruptcy filing, the initial 200 store closings could be followed by another 75 to 136. In Ann Arbor, the Arborland store was on the closing list.
Borders said in bankruptcy documents that it's losing $2 million a week at the 200 stores it plans to close. The retailer operated about 500 superstores and 140 small-format stores when it filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 16.
Read the Free Press story on the real estate request here.
Comments
CynicA2
Thu, Mar 3, 2011 : 4:45 a.m.
Hmmmm... Not seeing what purpose is served by dragging this process on beyond the timeframe offered - approximately 5 months. Doesn't seem like those 200+ stores are going to stop losing 2 million+ dollars per week anytime soon, so another 6 months or so accomplishes what, save flushing millions more down the toilet?! What part of "game over" does management not understand? How delusional can management be? Quite, apparently.