By Kristen Miranda - bio l email
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Bookseller Borders has filed for bankruptcy protection and will close 200 of it's large stores within weeks.
You'll recall Borders helped to pioneer the superstores that put countless mom-and-pop bookshops out of business.
Now experts say the chain was too slow to respond to the changes in the book-selling industry with the addition of massive online sales and e-books.
Clearance sales could begin as early as this weekend but the stores will operate as normal and honor gift cards as the company restructures.
The company also operates smaller Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores. The owner of one Charlotte-area independently owned bookstore says the trend toward small is coming full-circle.
"We've seen other big retailers shrink their square footage. For example Best Buy has made it's footprint smaller. Flexible is the way to be. I don't think brick-and-mortar stores are going away any time soon," said Sally Brewster who operates Park Road Books.
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