Bankruptcy judge approves closure of 200 Borders stores
A bankruptcy judge today approved Borders Group Inc.'s plans to close 200 stores, including its Arborland Center location on Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor.
Borders' Arborland store may start its liquidation as early as Friday.
Angela Smith | For AnnArbor.com
Liquidation sales are likely to start this weekend, Borders said. Trade publication Publishers Weekly said liquidation sales could start Friday.
Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday morning in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York. The company secured $505 million in bankruptcy filing from GE Capital that will help it continue to operate during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Borders said in bankruptcy documents that it's losing $2 million a week at the 200 stores it plans to close. The firm, which operates about 500 superstores and 140 small-format stores, may close another 75 to 136 stores depending on how its bankruptcy case unfolds.
The company employs about 18,100 workers nationwide, including 550 at its Ann Arbor headquarters and 106 at its three stores in Ann Arbor.
Borders' decision to close its Arborland store leaves the shopping center with another notable vacancy after the 2009 liquidation of electronics retailer Circuit City.
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.