Life In The City

Earlier in this series of blogs I wrote about the closing of the Century City Borders store. At the time, it was on a list of about 200 stores to be closed, out of a total of 600 in the Borders bookstore chain. The remaining 400 were supposed to be saved for at least another year or so by going through a bankruptcy. Unfortunately, things didn't work out, and now the entire chain is being closed down. As of tomorrow, customers' accumulated earnings on their Borders Rewards cards will expire (the Borders Bucks, I believe they were called). This truly is the end of Borders.
I remember a time, not too many years ago, when there were a number of bookstore chains. B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Brentano's, Crown Books, Waldenbooks, Dutton's, etc. Now, as far as I know, the end of Borders will mean there is only one book chain left, and that's Barnes and Noble. It's sad to think that one company will own all the major bookstores left in the USA, even though it is a very good company to be sure. I can only hope there are still enough people who appreciate books and the experience of shopping for books IN A STORE and not online, so that this one last chain will stay in business for many years to come.

Labels: bookstores

Last night I was at the Century City Mall, and I saw that the clearance sale at Borders has ended, the store has closed. Most of the windows were blocked with that white stuff Westfield likes to use when they have a vacant space, but one window was still uncovered. I saw the empty shelves where many books once awaited eager buyers to take them home, but no more. Now, for the first time in over two decades, Century City doesn't have a bookstore. At the same time, two major rival electronics companies have stores on the main level of the mall. I guess we are all going to be doing our reading on $600 battery-powered tablet computers from now on. Good night Brentano's and Borders, we will miss you.

Labels: bookstores

I was a regular customer of the Brentano's store at Century City Mall from 1989 until its closure in 2006. During most of its existence, that store was located right next to the old AMC 14 theatres on the northwest corner of the mall. The combination was a business owner's dream, with many movie-goers buying their tickets at the cinema right outside the bookstore's entrance, then turning around and entering Brentano's to browse and often actually purchase books while waiting for their shows to start. While I never truly accepted the rationale used for replacing it with the new Borders store (how did the new store "better serve the needs of the community"?) I eventually learned to accept the new location and was glad that it provided employment to at least three of the former Brentano's employees. Unfortunately, the new store didn't have the cozy feel of the old one, and not having it right next door to an AMC theatre (it is considerably more walking distance from the new AMC 15 on the southwest corner than its predecessor was from the AMC 14) had the effect of, in my opinion, significantly cutting down traffic to the shop. Without the steady stream of customers that Brentano's had as a result of its unique location in the mall, the new Borders store could not generate the revenue needed to survive. I think this proves the validity of the old saying, If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!

Labels: bookstores