Borders' flagship store in downtown Ann Arbor to close for good Monday
Borders' flagship store in downtown Ann Arbor will close Monday.
AnnArbor.com file photo
The two-story, 40,000-square-foot store at the corner of Liberty and Maynard streets in downtown Ann Arbor is one of 399 stores the chain is closing as part of its bankruptcy liquidation.
The store is located steps away from the South State Street spot where brothers Tom and Louis Borders launched the company as an 800-square-foot book shop in 1971.
Liquidation discounts have reached 60 percent to 80 percent of merchandise. It's unclear whether discounts will get any better before the store closes.
Meanwhile, a final closing date for the superstore on Lohr Road in Pittsfield Township has not been set, according to Borders' Facebook page.
The company has said that it would finish its liquidation sales sometime in September, but the exact timeline for each store's closure has been up in the air.
See previous coverage for more information about Washtenaw County's two Borders stores:
--Auctions may decide fate: Will Borders stores in downtown Ann Arbor, Pittsfield get new tenants?
--Borders 'now hiring' for its downtown Ann Arbor, Lohr Road stores as liquidation continues
--Liquidation starts: Borders store in downtown Ann Arbor enters its final days
--What's next for downtown Ann Arbor Borders store after chain closes?
--Downtown store closure also means a loss of arts and music venue
--Borders plans to liquidate, ending 40-year-old bookstore chain
--Borders' rise and fall: a timeline of the bookstore chain's 40-year history
--Column: Where are they now? Borders brothers long gone from Ann Arbor as chain nears bankruptcy
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
Tru2Blu76
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 : 5:59 p.m.
This is weird and another example of why Borders is "gone." Simultaneous with this article via the AnnArbor.com newsletter, I got Borders' latest email proclaiming: "Just Five Days Left." Using their 'handy store locator' - showed that the 612 E. Liberty location is STILL OPEN. It's not the reporter's fault: Borders has been sending "last days" emails to customers for MONTHS. I'm sure that whoever @ Borders made the statement about the AA store closing today is "just as honest and reliable" a source for such information. The Borders brothers are long gone (as explained in AA.com's February article). They never were really native Ann Arborites to begin with. Neither has shown interest in what's going on with their namesake business today. Interesting that they can be so casual about THEIR NAME. Fessing up: I was just as amazed and enamored as anyone of the original Borders store. My failure is the same as everyone else's: I clung to the emotional while ignoring all the signs that Reality was headed in an entirely different direction. (Just like our reaction to having a new and "different" football coach @ U of M three years ago.) Lesson learned - I hope.
Cosmic Ray
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 4:11 p.m.
Looks like Corn Dog will be the only bookseller left in the State Street Area. Who'd of thought two card tables on the side walk would bury Borders?
15crown00
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:33 p.m.
it had to happen sooner or later.get a grip on it BLUE BRAINS and move on
Deb
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:09 p.m.
No, it is too sad.
Halter
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 9:50 p.m.
A) I am sad to see it go -- thousands of my dollars have gone to buying books, magazines, CD's, and DVD's at Borders over the years. With my reward card, by buying dozens of full-price items over the months I would get a coupon for 5.00 off. B) Despite that, over the last couple years my money has gone to Amazon, iTunes, and other online services where absolutely everything I would normally buy at Borders is available at less than half the price. When I absolutely needed the hard copy, Barnes and Noble almost always had it without special order needed, and had it at 20 - 30 percent off list price. C) I bought a DVD I was particularly interested in at Borders this past weekend at 60% off. Their retail price was 28.99. I got it for a little over 12 dollars with tax....at 60 PERCENT OFF....That same movie was available on iTunes at 9.99 no tax, and Amazon had the CD for 10.99 with free shipping. You tell me why Borders went out of business.
say it plain
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:53 p.m.
perfectly stated...
Potato Chip
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 9:21 p.m.
"Liquidation discounts have reached 60 percent to 80 percent of merchandise. It's unclear whether discounts will get any better before the store closes." I've got to take umbrage with your use of the term 'better'. What would be 'better', 100% off? Why not just 'larger'? Better...it's not better for the store. It's the discount-everything-to-the-bones mentality that is killing our small businesses and our downtowns. In retail it always seems that we have to give-give-give, big discounts, compete with the chains...and then when we're finally bled to death, people come out and mourn us and lament about the loss of indie stores. Guess what, we can't keep giving you everything and eating a loss! Borders may have been a big chain, but its roots were small, it was an Ann Arbor institution, and the loss of the flagship store leaves a big hole downtown.
Tom Joad
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:35 p.m.
Bring back Jacobsons
A2comments
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
So why did they have jobs posted for this location?
Sebastian
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:15 p.m.
One of these days we're going to miss book stores. Not that Borders has been in that category for awhile.