Borders to Open 25 Temporary Stores for Holiday Sales

by: Julie Bosman

This year, it is out with the superstore and in with the pop-up.

Borders, making a push to sell e-readers and books during the holiday season, plans to open 25 so-called pop-up stores in cities like Minnetonka, Minn.; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and Scottsdale, Ariz., beginning in early October.


Most of the pop-ups will be in malls where Borders once had stores. The company has closed more than 200 stores in the last year, most of which were its smaller Waldenbooks outlets in malls.

“Where it didn’t make business sense for us to operate stores on a permanent basis in these areas, we can open a seasonal store and serve the holiday shopping needs of our customers,” Mike Edwards, the chief executive of Borders, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to once again be part of these communities.”

The concept of the pop-up store has been embraced by landlords who are looking for short-term tenants and by retailers like Target who need a flexible, attention-grabbing way to showcase their wares.

For Borders, it is a way to capture a larger piece of coveted holiday sales in the biggest season for the publishing industry. Borders has lagged Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the e-reader race — in July, it began selling its device, the Kobo, in its stores, long after its competitors introduced their own e-readers.

Last year, Borders opened pop-up stores in five locations, including Short Hills, N.J., and Schaumburg, Ill., and considered the experiment successful enough to merit an expansion this year.

The company is calling the stores “Borders Express,” and described them as severely scaled-down versions of its regular retail outlets. They will occupy spaces of about 2,500 square feet, and carry a limited selection of new releases, best sellers, children’s books and holiday-themed items.

The 25 stores will also carry both the original Kobo, for $129.99, and a new wireless version to be introduced in October for $139.99.

The reader, available in black, white and silver and white and purple, allows customers to browse more than 1.5 million books in the Borders e-bookstore.

from: NY Times