The One Retailer You Must Avoid

• Report this Comment On January 03, 2011, at 3:22 PM, mattsmithsd wrote:

  I just don't see many people reading books any more. When I am out and about, people are reading from their Blackberry, iPhone, Kindle, iPad and other electronic devices. Borders hasn't really changed with the time and is pretty much going to be left behind in the dust... I always saw a problem with Barnes and Noble's future. When walking into the store, more people are lounging around reading the magazines and books for free than those in line buying the merchandise. It was a good thought to welcome lounging people, but ultimately, it is hurting their sales.

• Report this Comment On January 03, 2011, at 4:27 PM, running01 wrote:

  I worked for Borders and was thrown out (along with many of the crew in 08) the writing was on the wall a long time ago.The media has started to catch on about two years ago but behind the scenes things are awful. Workers treated like crap and fired for no reason, and a skeleton crew to somehow make it all work. Borders has burned so many people, that I can hear the applause when they finally fold. No joke. Awful company.

• Report this Comment On January 03, 2011, at 5:20 PM, Millsteen wrote:

  I was in the Marlton, NJ store on a summer Sat night with 3 customers in the coffee area and probably another 5 people browsing in the store. When this store first opened, it was crowded on a typical Sat night as a place to hang out and browse the latest books. This is before Amazon and the web. I wondered how they pay the rent for this huge superstore, not to mention the lights. The answer came this month with the notice that Borders is closing this location along with others. Investing in retail is relatively easy. Visit and observe and look past the financial reports positive or negative. The answer is in front of you.

• Report this Comment On January 03, 2011, at 7:35 PM, madmilker wrote:

  Since Retail makes NOTHING....one would be smart to avoid them all.....

  On Wal*Mart's China web page under "About Us."

  "Wal-Mart China persists in local procurement which provides more job opportunities, supports local manufacture industry and promotes local economy. So far, 95% of merchandising sold at Wal-Mart China store are local products by which Wal-Mart has established business relations with nearly 20,000 suppliers. At Wal-Mart, we treat suppliers as partners and would like to develop with them. In 2008 Wal-Mart won the Supplier Satisfaction published by Business Information of Shanghai for five consecutive years."

  5% foreign in China...

  That doesn't support American exports and American jobs.

  Remember what Lance Winslow wrote in that article "The Flow of Trade in a Global Economy"....

  "Now let us look at Wal-Mart again; you buy a product there, 6% goes to the employees, 10-18% is profit to the company, 25% goes to other costs and 50% goes to re-stock or the cost of goods sold. Of the 50% about 20-25% goes to China, a guess, but you get the point. Now then, how long will it take at 433 Billion dollars at year for China to have all of our money, leaving no money flow for us to circulate? At a 17 Trillion dollar economy less than 40-years minus the 1/6 they buy from us. Some say that if we keep putting money into our economy, it would take forever, but if we do not then eventually all the money flow will go. If China buys our debt then eventually they own us, no need to worry about a war, they are buying America, due in part to our own mismanaged trade, so whose fault is that? Not necessarily China, as they are doing what's in the best interests, and we should make sure that trade is not only free, but fair too."

  Think for a moment about George Washington....yes the man that is on the US dollar bill....How do you think George feels being sent overseas in return for all that foreign so-call cheap items and being left in a foreign bank because the American worker doesn't make anything for the foreigners to buy. Cheap items didn't make this great union of 50 states the greatest place on the face of this Earth.....the American worker (union and non-union) did.

  You can't have a strong country without having a strong currency and you can't have a strong currency unless you keep it floating around within your 50 states. This is why the store with the star in the name puts 95% China made items in their stores in China....to keep their "yuan" in their country helping the nice people there. And with only 5% left for all the other 182 country's that make stuff including the United States of America....that doesn't produce very many jobs outside of China.

  Being an old person myself and knowing how it was back in the 40's, 50's and 60's in this union of 50 states....I look at George each time I pull him out of my billfold and make a promise to send him out for items made in America so after floating around helping each hand he touches just maybe one day he will shake mine again.

  Fifteen cargo ships pollute as much as 760 million automobiles.

  $9 billion a year in hidden taxes to all American taxpayers to clean fish from ballast tanks of ships...

  think about all those facts the next time you pull that George out of your pocket....

  Retail makes NOTHING...

  Governments only make MORE DEBT...

  It's time for less of those two and for America to get back to what it does best....MAKE STUFF..

  cause George Washington on that dollar can't help anyone in the United States of America if he is being held in a foreign hand.

  Made In America is the only way out of this mess cause foreign made put US here.

  duh!

  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JZS/is_6_22/ai_n2498...

• Report this Comment On January 03, 2011, at 7:48 PM, stan8331 wrote:

  I see brick & mortar book retailing reverting back to being dominated by local booksellers who can tolerate lower sales volume. National chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble are simply not competetive against the likes of Amazon, Wal-Mart and Costco - now or anywhere in the foreseeable future.

  Physical books are not headed for extinction, but Amazon's and Wal-Mart's business models are just too efficient to allow the brick & mortar bookstore chains to survive long-term in their current form.

• Report this Comment On January 04, 2011, at 11:17 AM, DeanWitterNY wrote:

  Go Short!

• Report this Comment On January 04, 2011, at 12:13 PM, dollarpimp wrote:

  Was in a Borders yesterday and the shelves were not only half-empty but in total disarray. This company is finished.

• Report this Comment On January 04, 2011, at 12:55 PM, TMFLomax wrote:

  I just saw that yesterday the company also disclosed losing two major executives. Doesn't look good.

  Thanks for all the feedback, folks!

• Report this Comment On January 04, 2011, at 6:51 PM, NotAnotherTrader wrote:

  Although it is cool to shop at Amazon for hard to find or specialty books, I think it's better to shop at a local Borders or Barnes and Noble store to benefit the local economy. Not to mention keep the jobs.

  I rather pay a few dollars more. Am I right or am I right?

• Report this Comment On January 04, 2011, at 7:44 PM, RedRaiderMan wrote:

  Borders and B&N are chains as well. Too bad there aren't old fashioned bookstores like the one we had in my town when I was growing up.

  No coffee, computers, movies...just lots and lots of great books and friendly people.

• Report this Comment On February 04, 2011, at 1:39 AM, SteveKL wrote:

  BGP and BKS collectively were responsible for the failure and closure of nearly 50% of the independent bookstores in the country between 1985 and 2005, according to industry trade group American Booksellers Association. Now that technology, big box retailers, and other factors are putting the squeeze on the big chain bookstores, it is ironic to think that the future of B&M bookselling may again revert to the small, locally-owned, independent bookstores that found it so hard to compete with the biggies.

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