Borders sells off Day by Day Calendar business in bid to raise cash
Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. said today that it is selling its Day by Day Calendar Co. unit.
The sale of the division comes as Borders is conserving cash in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. Borders executives had said they would seek to sell assets to boost its financial position.
"With the sale of this business, we can continue to place a focus on the areas of our business that we feel will improve profitability and cash flow," Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said in a statement.
Day by Day, sold to Austin, Texas-based Calendar Holdings LLC, is a collection of 420 kiosks and stores.
Davis declined to reveal the sale price but said the company would "share key details about the sale" in its next earnings report and regulatory filings.
The sale comes six months after Borders sold its its Paperchase Products Ltd. stationery unit to British private investment firm Primary Capital Ltd. for $31 million.
Borders, which lost $74.4 million in its most recent fiscal quarter, has said it could face a cash crunch in early 2011 if it can't find a new source of lending and restructure vendor financing agreements. The book store chain is currently trying to convince publishers to accept short-term debt in exchange for missed payments.
Borders stock (NYSE: BGP) closed at $0.85 a share, up $0.01 for the day.
Borders employs about 550 workers at its corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor. The company last week laid off 40 workers at the headquarters.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
ShadowManager
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 3:09 p.m.
They have horribly unkept and dirty bathrooms. I knew as soon as they stopped keeping these up, it was all over for them. Seriously, the restrooms at Arborland and downtown are worse than trainstation cans.
UofM_Fan
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 12:20 p.m.
I have to agree with Paul's comments about what has brought about the poor customer service. Let's face it, how would anyone feel going to work for a company that: 1.) Is on the verge of complete collapse at any moment? 2.) Is run by managers who are looking out for themselves? 3.) Pays you next to nothing? 4.) Pretty much has "Do more with less" as their company motto? 5.) Is trying to "re-invent" itself every few months trying to avoid bankruptcy? Paul is correct. It would be an understatement to call the work environment at Border "brutal". You're on a sinking ship and the captain keeps ordering you to re-arrange the deck chairs, all the while you know the senior officers are loading all the valuables into a deluxe lifeboat just for them.
Sallyxyz
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 2:24 a.m.
I agree that customer service has gone downhill at Borders, but so has B&N customer service. Hey, to folks who work in these places, try smiling once in a while at work. You'll feel better and so will the customers. Surly attitudes only contribute to customers going online or elsewhere to shop.
Paul Taylor
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 12:03 p.m.
The decline in customer service at Borders stems directly from cost-cutting and the abandonment of a system to assure that new hires were qualified for the job. You'd be surly, too, if you got paid a pittance to do the work of multiple people AND wait on people with a huge sense of entitlement.
jrigglem
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 1:15 a.m.
Maybe if they didn't have such bad customer service they would be doing much better. With a change in so many policies and being told that my Borders Rewards card was "useless" without and email address, I'd rather just shop elsewhere.
jrigglem
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 1:17 a.m.
an not and (typing too fast.)
imsteved
Tue, Jan 25, 2011 : 1:01 a.m.
Ah. They'll clearly use the proceeds to finance the buyout of B&N.