Borders closing OKC store - Norman Spared

[MikeOKC]

Borders has filed for Chapter 11 and is closing 200 stores - about a third of their total number of stores.

On the closing list:

3209 NW Expressway in OKC
8015 S. Yale in Tulsa

The Norman store is not on the list and will stay open.

Sad day.....

FULL LIST (sortable) OF BORDERS STORES CLOSING:
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/do..._20110216.html

[silvergrove]

Sad, I actually liked that Borders over the B&N in the city.

I guess the Kindle and other e-readers are helping push these bookstores out. I feel old now, I still like the feeling (and smell) of a book in my hands.

[bornhere]

I quit patronizing local bookstores because they never had anything I wanted to read.

[Soonerman]

I hate to hear that. I too liked Borders over Barnes and Noble. At least the Norman store will remain open for now.

[BBatesokc]

Sad. The wife and I often spent a Sunday afternoon drinking a coffee and reading books/magazines at the NW EXP location. Guess we'll go to Norman from now on.

[progressiveboy]

I saw this in today's MSN. OKC is closing their only store. Tulsa will be closing one store and keeping their other store in Midtown Tulsa.






http://money.msn.com/how-to-invest/l...4b5b&GT1=33009

[Steve]

Maybe this will provide people in the area added reason to give Full Circle Books a try. The only thing Borders had that Full Circle didn't was DVDs and CDs.

[td25er]

Sad. The wife and I often spent a Sunday afternoon drinking a coffee and reading books/magazines at the NW EXP location. Guess we'll go to Norman from now on.

You can do the exact same thing down the street at B&N.

[BBatesokc]

You can do the exact same thing down the street at B&N.

We've never really liked B&N.

[OKCTalker]

Maybe this will provide people in the area added reason to give Full Circle Books a try. The only thing Borders had that Full Circle didn't was DVDs and CDs.

Yep - I support local merchants when I can, and Full Circle usually has what I'm looking for. I might save a couple of bucks elsewhere, but Jim Tolbert has been darn good to this community.

[onthestrip]

The Borders building would make a good spot for another specialty grocer

[BG918]

Hopefully this is a boon for Full Circle.

[MikeOKC]

That Borders space has got to be worth a lot of money. Right next door to the Marriott hotel, across the street from Baptist/Integris, just west of May on Northwest Expressway, a couple of blocks from the new Dave & Busters and that whole development, just a little more than a mile from Penn Square. Somebody will probably have to pony up some big bucks, but I can't see it sitting empty at that prime spot for long.

[bluedogok]

They are closing all three Austin stores, none of the San Antonio stores.

[Thunder]

It was a very illogical decision to close the OKC store instead of the Norman store. Then again, they looked at which properties have the highest resell values and closed the stores base on that. At least, that is the way I am seeing it.

[MikeOKC]

They are closing all three Austin stores, none of the San Antonio stores.

Wow. That surprises me. With the university and all? I read where a lot of university towns were spared (like Norman here in Oklahoma). I am very surprised that Borders would close all three in Austin and keep all San Antonio stores open? Bizarre.

[progressiveboy]

Wow. That surprises me. With the university and all? I read where a lot of university towns were spared (like Norman here in Oklahoma). I am very surprised that Borders would close all three in Austin and keep all San Antonio stores open? Bizarre.

I agree. It seems strange since Austin is full of transplanted East Coast and West Coast people. With Dell, Whole Foods, UT and IRS it would seem like such an educated enviornment.

[jn1780]

Here's an article about Barnes & Noble which gives an overview of the book industry. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...667648722.html

The traditional book industry has faced increased competition from not only Amazon.com but also Google Inc. and Apple Inc. as more competitors seek a bigger slice of digital book pie.

Digital books may eventually represent over half of the book sales in the next few years, up from under 10% currently, the analyst said.

"There's still a lot of uncertainty," he said, adding the traditional book industry is still oversaturated with stores and would likely lead to more consolidation. "There are a lot of risks. The competition is going to be fierce."

[bluedogok]

It was a very illogical decision to close the OKC store instead of the Norman store. Then again, they looked at which properties have the highest resell values and closed the stores base on that. At least, that is the way I am seeing it.

I am not sure what the ownership status of the NW Expressway store is, it may be a long term lease, I don't think that Borders actually own many of the physical stores they are located in usually preferring leases. Most of the Walgreen's stores that I did in Oklahoma were build-to-suit long term leases, only one was a turn-key store. I would imagine that lease buyouts and such may have played a factor in the decision of which stores are closed and which stay open, it is rarely based on per store sales figures alone. All of the stores here are lease stores in strip malls or lifestyle centers including the store across the street from my office.

Wow. That surprises me. With the university and all? I read where a lot of university towns were spared (like Norman here in Oklahoma). I am very surprised that Borders would close all three in Austin and keep all San Antonio stores open? Bizarre.

I agree. It seems strange since Austin is full of transplanted East Coast and West Coast people. With Dell, Whole Foods, UT and IRS it would seem like such an educated enviornment.

We have many Barnes & Noble stores, then we also have the local chain Book People and Half Price Books is very popular as well, we also have quite a few small, independent stores. I would also imagine that with the relative youth and tech industry here many more might have migrated over to digital book readers (like the Kindle, Nook, iPad and the Sony one) than in some other markets and most probably buy the majority of new titles online which reduces the need for the bricks and mortar store. Being behind the e-reader curve was probably one of the biggest blunders for Borders.

[kwash]

Who cares, borders sucked, they were expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Soonerman]

Wow. That surprises me. With the university and all? I read where a lot of university towns were spared (like Norman here in Oklahoma). I am very surprised that Borders would close all three in Austin and keep all San Antonio stores open? Bizarre.

Borders is also closing 7 stores in the DFW metroplex and keeping thier Houston stores open as well.

[Larry OKC]

It was a very illogical decision to close the OKC store instead of the Norman store. Then again, they looked at which properties have the highest resell values and closed the stores base on that. At least, that is the way I am seeing it.

I agree with what bluedog said. When K-Mart decided went thru the same thing, to close their stores, it had more to do with the high rent/overhead they had in the relatively new spaces they were in. The stores they kept in Tulsa and other places are in locations were either they either own the buildings or the rent is so low (buildings are ancient) it made sense for them to do so.

[Thunder]

Who want to explain this? They rent/lease the land, but they pay and own the building.

[Larry OKC]

It does sound confusing and I am a bit fuzzy on it myself but the way I understand it, when you go through these restructuring you sell assets (if they owned the buildings outright and didn't owe the bank) or get out of your lease agreements. This way the company eliminates or significantly reduces the amount of debt and might become profitable again.

[HewenttoJared]

We have a Border's?