Borders to go out of business

The Borders store on Lohr Road in Pittsfield Township was created as the chain's new "concept" store when it opened in 2008.

A unit of Boston-based retail liquidator Gordon Brothers Group has been hired to dispose of bankrupt Borders Group’s real estate.
DJM Realty said the bookseller retained the Melville, N.Y., company to line up bidders for 259 leases for Borders superstores that are available for assignment nationwide, including eight locations in Massachusetts.
“With a lack of new real estate development and restrictive barriers of entry in several key markets, surplus real estate like Borders becomes a very good opportunity for a number of growing retailers looking to open for business during the next four to 12 months,” said Andy Graiser, co-president of DJM Realty, in a statement.

According to DJM Realty, the leases up for grabs in Massachusetts would be in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, the Cambridgeside Galleria, Legacy Place in Dedham, Independence Mall in Kingston, Mansfield Crossing, Shops at the Pond in Marlboro, The Loop in Methuen and South Washington Street in North Attleboro. The stores occupy a total of 200,000 square feet.
Graiser said three companies have already expressed interest in the space in the 40,000-square-foot Downtown Crossing space. Borders’ lease with Clarendon Group of Boston, the owner of the School Street building, is set to expire at the end of January.
“It’s still a pretty good location when you look at who’s not in there area,” Graiser said, declining to name the companies that are eyeing the property. He added that retail spaces in cities are much more expensive than in the suburbs.
“It’s always a bit more challenging because there are not a lot of players that can step into that type of real estate quickly,” Graiser said.
Borders is seeking court approval to liquidate its remaining 399 stores as soon as Friday. The chain has already shuttered eight Massachusetts stores since filing for bankruptcy in February.
A hearing on the 40-year-old chain’s plan — a sale to liquidators led by Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources — is set for Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
DJM expects to hold an auction for the Downtown Crossing space, along with a group of other liquidating Borders stores, in mid- to late-September.
Borders, the second largest U.S. bookstore chain behind Barnes & Noble, is expected to go out of business by the end of September. Nearly 11,000 jobs will be wiped out.
“We are saddened by this development,” Borders President Mike Edwards said in a statement released today. “We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, e-reader revolution and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now.”
A Borders sale to buyout firm Najafi Cos. fell apart last week after creditors balked at terms that would have allowed Najafi to liquidate after completing the deal. The creditors argued a quicker liquidation would be worth more.

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