The Bankruptcy of Borders

It is a sad day that Borders the second biggest book store chain in the United States filed for bankruptcy. You can blame their misfortunes on discount retailers, both offline and online but they were also slow to adapt to changing times like having their own website late in the game and not being fast enough on electronic books. Another thing is that although it is nice to go to a book store and browse the books there but still if you can get the same book for 30 percent or more off the retail price why would you pay the whole price unless you want to get it that instant and do not want to wait for a few days to arrive in your mail box.

I can understand that having a physical location with its numerous overhead costs and other issues can put any store at a disadvantage against online retailers, but still despite this many stores are indeed thriving both offline and online. This is what happens when some company is slow to adapt to the environment in which it is working and the lack of vision to take the company to the next and evolving new level. Although they have said that they will close many stores and operate on leaner workforce and inventory, and I am sad that we would not be seen that many Borders bookstores, hopefully they have learned their lesson and come out of this stronger than before.