Tag Archives: Borders Group Inc.
Borders Raises $25 Million
Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) has raised $25 million from Bennett S. LeBow. The investment was made through the private purchase of 11.1 million shares of Borders’ common stock at a purchase price of $2.25 per share. Mr. Lebow has joined Borders Board of Directs as the Chairman of the company. LeBow is also Chairman of Vector Group Ltd.
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Categories Bennett S. LeBow, Borders Group Inc., Mike Edwards
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Borders Introduces The Kobo eReader With A New eBook Store
Ann Arbor, Michigan based Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) has introduced a new device called the Borders Kobo eReader. The eReader is $149 and they plan to launch other multiple reader devices soon. The company is also creating an e-book store to complement the device. The Kobo should be available on June 17 and is available for pre-order now. Border’s ebook store will have a “million titles” with applications on the iPhone, Android, iPad, and BlackBerry. Below is the full press release.
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Borders Partners With Kobo On E-Books For Mobile Devices
Ann Arbor, Michigan based book retail company Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is working on an e-books initiative. Borders has partnered with Kobo Inc. to set up an online mobile store for e-books. The e-book store will be fully launched by Q2 of 2010. Kobo is a spinoff of Indigo Books & Music Inc. Kobo is planning to launch an e-book store application for the Apple App Store, BlackBerry App World, Android Market, and Palm App Catalog.
Borders is facing intense rivalry with Barnes & Noble Inc. when it comes to e-books. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is geared to launch Nook, an e-book reader device. Both Barnes & Noble and Borders have a bigger enemy known as Amazon.com. Amazon’s Kindle and recent exclusive deal is not helping both of the other book retail companies maintain their market share.
Below is the full press release:
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Categories Borders Group Inc., Kobo Inc., Ron Marshall
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Border’s Survey Suggests Future Apple Tablet Is Called iPAD
There’s a large number of rumors surfacing about the Apple tablet. Some people are saying that there will be a tablet and some people are saying that the rumors aren’t true at all. Such is the secrecy of Apple culture.
An online survey that was slapped together by Border’s book store asks consumers to vote whether they “plan to buy an Apple iPAD (large screening reading device) this year.” Either Border’s knows something we don’t or they did not take the rumors of a tablet with a grain of salt.
Another possibility is that the slip could have been caused by a marketing company. Usually major corporations outsource online surveys to marketing companies.
[via Engadget]
Categories Apple Inc., Borders Group Inc.
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Borders Group Inc. Breaks Into The Web Without Amazon’s Help After 7 Years
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based, Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) has been depending on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to power their website over the last seven years. On March 17 2007, the company announced that that they were planning to sever ties with Amazon and compete directly with them.
“We expect to drive sales and profits with it,” stated Borders spokeswoman, Anne Roman in 2007 when talking about the upcoming website. “We can mesh the in-store sales with online, which is something we have been missing.”
Although the financial information was undisclosed, Seattle PI estimates that the loss of Border’s could cost Amazon.com $80-$160 million in annual revenue. Amazon.com currently powers the websites for Sears Canada & UK, Target Corp., Benefit Cosmetics, Times, Bebe, Marks & Spencer, Lacoste, Mothercare, and AOL’s Shop@AOL. Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is currently researching the feasibility of buying out Borders.Â
Below is the design for the new site:
The new look is very Web 2.0. The new website uses a Flash-based feature called The Magic Shelf that allows the user to browse up, down, left, and right through a bookshelf. Border’s website also monitors your book tastes and has a Picked For You feature.
The website also features visual media programs such as live store performances on Borders Live at 01, chefs in the Borders Kitchen, and discussions in the living room with Borders Book Club. The website also directly connects with Borders Rewards membership coupon cards.
Compared to the old Border’s website, the new version is a lot more creative. The old version look very identical to Amazon.com itself. The only problem with the new site is that it struggles with search engine optimization. The site is ranked 300,000+ on Alexa compared to Amazon.com’s rank 29. Borders needs search optimization experts to help them so that when someone searches for a book on Google, Borders is up there with Amazon.
According to my Google toolbar, Borders’ website doesn’t appear to have a PageRank either. This could directly affect their traffic. Google should give them a PageRank boost.
Information Sources:
[1] Seattle Pi: Borders shelving Amazon alliance by Craig Harris
[2] MLive.com: Barnes & Nobles puts together team to look at buying rival Ann Arbor-based Borders by Stefanie Murray
Categories Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Borders Group Inc.
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