Borders

About Borders

Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 16, 2011. Borders operated 642 superstores at its peak. The company outsourced its online sales to Amazon in 2001, a catastrophic strategic error. Borders invested heavily in CDs and DVDs just as those formats declined. The company could not compete with Amazon on price or convenience. Borders liquidated all stores in 2011, eliminating 10,700 jobs. The liquidation was one of the largest retail liquidations in US history. Private equity firm Pershing Square Capital Management, led by Bill Ackman, was a major investor. The Borders bankruptcy demonstrated the vulnerability of brick and mortar retailers to digital competition. Many former Borders locations were converted to other retail uses.