Borders liquidation sales begin Saturday
February 18, 2011
Borders will end its run in Puerto Rico in September. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
 |
| Borders in Carolina (Credit: ©Mauricio Pascual) |
Expecting it to be a “short sale,” Borders Group on Saturday will begin liquidating everything at the 200 stores it will close as part of its Chapter 11 procedure, including the Carolina and Mayagüez locations.
In a statement, Borders officials said discounts of between 20 percent and 40 percent will be given on more than $350 million of inventory including books, magazines, music and movie media, calendars, posters and more to be liquidated.
“Consumers will benefit from very significant savings on the entire stock of books in every category, including new releases, best sellers, text books, rare and collectible books and children’s books,” according to a statement issued Thursday. “There are also substantial price reductions on, thousands of music CDs and video DVDs, calendars, posters, puzzles and arts and crafts items.”
While consumers will benefit from discounted items, the closings of the two stores announced earlier this week, will have a great impact on local book distributors who supply Spanish-language publications to Borders, a source told News is my Business.
“The impact of the exit of these two stores goes beyond the closing and what will happen to the employees. It will also affect the entire book distribution chain on the island. This is sad,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
Approximately 70 employees will lose their jobs once the two Borders stores close. The Plaza las Américas location will be the only one surviving the operational downsizing that the retailer is implementing as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization procedure.
Borders made its local debut in 1990, quickly taking over a chunk of the market through its sheer buying power alone. Its inventory of thousands of books in English and Spanish, and its ability to leverage and sell at discounted prices, represented the death of many smaller competitors. It is not clear how many local distributors will be affected by the closings.
Meanwhile, the retailer said Borders Rewards programs, including Borders Rewards Plus, will remain in effect. Gift cards will also be honored as usual.
The liquidation of inventory and store fixtures is being managed by a joint venture composed of Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC, Gordon Brothers Group, SB Capital Group, LLC, and Tiger Capital Group.
A spokesperson for the joint venture said, “This is a tremendous opportunity for consumers to take advantage of truly compelling discounts on a huge selection of literature, entertainment media and much more. We anticipate that today’s value conscious consumer will respond very positively to these outstanding savings. We expect this will be a short sale.”
See related story: http://bit.ly/f6BTLP
See related story: http://bit.ly/f6BTLP
Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
