Borders Group, A Failed Business

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Introduction

There are many businesses failing in the world today but there also a lot of business thriving. It is situations like this that leads to potential entrepreneurs to ask the question of why are some businesses successful while others are not. This course has given me some insight as to why some businesses fail. Having that information would make me better prepared for when I decide to start my business.

My Failed Business Choice

The company I chose to do research on is Borders Group, Inc. “Borders Group, Inc. is now the second largest bookstore in the world” (Hoover's company profiles, 2011). This is a company that I just recently found out about. I love book stores and living in a town where the bookstores are very few that when I am out of town I am looking for a Barnes & Nobles or Books-A-Million to visit before returning home. On one of my last trips I discovered Borders. To me this place was another great book store for me and my family to stock up on some great deals for books. Imagine the disappointment I felt when learning that Borders Group, Inc. “filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing $1.275 billion in assets and $1.293 billion in debts in its filing. The company also announced the liquidation and closing of 226 stores” (Hoover's company profiles, 2011).

Company History

“Borders Group, Inc. was originally Borders and it was a used bookstore that was established by Tom and Louis Borders in 1971 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The bookstore was very popular in the academic community. It wasn’t long before the brothers opened up more locations. Wanting to grow their business even more the brothers opened their first large-scale retail store in 1985. With the success of this store the sales shifted ...

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