Waldenbooks in Fairlane Village mall will shut down

Nov 07, 2009 (Republican and Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BGP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Borders is closing the book on a local retailer.

The Waldenbooks location in the Fairlane Village mall is one of 200 Borders Group Inc. locations closing as part of corporate "right-sizing."

In a statement released Thursday, Borders Group, Waldenbooks' parent company, announced an effort to close under-producing stores and emerge with a smaller, more profitable mall chain in 2010.

"America has a number of malls that continue to do well and draw customer traffic even in the current economy," Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall said in a press release. "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. Through this right-sizing, we will reduce the number of stores with operating losses, reduce our overall rent expense and lease-adjusted leverage and generate cash flow through sales and working capital reductions."

Employees at the Fairlane Village Mall location referred questions to corporate headquarters and would not say how many mall employees would be out of work due to the closing. Corporate-wide, about 1,500 mostly part-time positions will be eliminated.

According to the press release, efforts will be made to place qualified individuals in other positions within Borders Group and displaced employees will receive severance.

Bonnie Schmick, a Borders Group spokeswoman, said Friday the Pottsville location opened in 1980.

Schmick said she did not know how many employees worked in the Pottsville store and she would not say if the store was losing money.

"There isn't really a specific reason we can discuss but the decision is always a tough one," Schmick said.

Schmick said the actual closing date would depend on how quickly the store's current product is sold.

Michael Norris, senior trade analyst at Simba Information, said the move is a way to focus on superstores, which make more money and cost less per square foot to operate than smaller stores.

"In a way, they kind of have to do this, because Barnes & Noble is ahead of them in phasing out small-format stores," he said.

Borders' chief rival, Barnes & Noble, based in New York, said last month it would close all of its remaining 50 B. Dalton stores by the end of January.

Heather Stine, Fairlane Village mall director of marketing, referred questions about the affect of the store's closing to a mall management company representative, but those calls were not returned.

The Republican-Herald could not obtain permission to speak with mall shoppers about the store closing or photograph the store.

"I am very saddened by the news," Pia Murphy, assistant to the executive director of the Schuylkill County Literacy Council, said Friday. "Unfortunately, because people love to read, not only will we have some job losses, but people will have to go out of the county to buy books since it was the only one left in the county."

Murphy said she believes the decision was economic and not a reflection on the county's literacy.

"I don't think it has to do with the actual literacy rate," Murphy said. "In an economic collapse, people can't afford to buy books, so more people are borrowing them for free at public libraries."

Robin James, assistant reference librarian at the Pottsville Free Public Library, was also saddened by the news.

"My first thought was this is a sad day for the people of Schuylkill County, as an opportunity for the public to have access to books will be gone. There will be one less source for exposure to good books and literary items," James said Friday.

James said although the store is closing, he does not anticipate a significant change in the number of library patrons.

"There doesn't seem to be a measurable or noticeable cross-market," James said. "But it would be good to note that although Waldenbooks provided a good source for the public to view new books, we have new books here as well."

All gift cards will be honored while the store remains open, or at another Waldenbooks location, Borders or borders.com.

The Laurel Mall location in Hazleton is also scheduled to close in January.

The closure comes about one year after another Waldenbooks location in the county closed.

The company announced the closure of 112 stores in 2008, including the Schuylkill Mall location that shut down in January 2009.

About 130 stores in its Waldenbooks Specialty Retail unit, which includes Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores, will remain open and the company said the closing will not affect any Borders superstores or any of its mall kiosks, including 500 Day by Day Calendar Co. spots and other mall-based stores.

The closest Borders location is Woodland Road, and Borders Express location is the Berkshire Mall, both in the Reading area.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group Inc., a specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items, currently employs about 25,000 throughout the U.S. in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores.

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