Waldenbooks to Close 200 Stores

Borders Group (Ann Arbor, Mich.) announced it will shutter approximately 200 locations in January 2010, as part of it ongoing strategy to improve its Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment. This will leave the chain with 130 mall-based stores.

“America has a number of malls that continue to do well and draw customer traffic even in the current economy,” says Borders Group ceo Ron Marshall. “We believe there remains an opportunity to profitably operate a much smaller Waldenbooks segment that complements our core Borders superstore business and continues to serve readers in their communities.”

A list of store closings has not been finalized but locations will be closed across the U.S. The announcement did not include changes to Borders’ superstores or the company's seasonal mall kiosk business, such as the over 500 Day by Day Calendar Co. units. The remaining Waldenbooks stores will be integrated into the Borders superstore computer system, as all stores merge to a single platform for operating efficiencies.

Borders says its right-sizing initiative began several years ago when it started closing underperforming Waldenbooks Specialty Retail stores annually as part of an overall turnaround strategy. From fiscal 2001 through 2007, the company closed an average of 66 Waldenbooks stores per year; in fiscal 2008, 112 stores were shuttered.