Subdued, But a Celebration: Borders Turns 30

By Brad Zellar, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 11/12/2001

Brothers Tom and Louis Borders and their legendary manager, Joe Gable, were ambitious characters, but there was no way they could have envisioned that their original 800-sq.-ft. used bookstore on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor would evolve over 30 years into an international giant with more than 350 stores and 17,000 employees around the world. And there was no way they could have imagined that a store bearing their name would also be involved in one of the greatest tragedies in American history.

Borders lost its marquee World Trade Center store in the September 11 terrorist attacks, just as the company was preparing for its 30th anniversary celebrations in October. In a sense, the tragedy gave the company--as well as its customers--an opportunity to put those 30 years in perspective and to take a look at the values that have shaped the company.

"This has been a chance, really, for all of us to count our blessings," Tami Heim, president of Borders Stores, told PW Daily. "We were very fortunate that all of our World Trade Center employees were safe and accounted for, and we've been gratified at the heartwarming response we've received from so many of our customers in a difficult time. It's really been overwhelming and humbling for us. We've always believed that we do more than just sell books and music, but it's nice to be reminded of the important role our stores play in their communities. We really think we can make a difference, and our relationship with our customers is so important to us, now more than ever."

The Borders brothers had expansive goals from the outset, and within three years of opening, they branched into new books and moved into a 10,000-sq.-ft. location. Louis Borders designed a computerized inventory control system that streamlined the flow of books and paved the way for inventory management in the industry.

By 1985 the brothers added another 10,000 square feet in the original location and had opened stores in Birmingham, Mich., and Atlanta, Ga. By the end of the decade, they had sprouted in Chicago and expanded on the East Coast. In the '90s they went west as well. When the brothers sold the business to Kmart in October 1992, there were 22 Borders stores nationwide.

Kmart--which also owned Waldenbooks--continued to push the expansion, adding music and cafes to the mix. When Borders and Waldenbooks went public in 1995 as Borders Group, Inc., the company was ready to take its act overseas. At the close of the century, Borders had stores in Singapore, Puerto Rico, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, and created a Web site that is now run by Amazon.com. In the last six years the Borders Group has opened 80% of its new stores, and as it celebrated its 30th anniversary, the company continued to fine tune the way it does business.

"We're doing far more customer research than we ever have in the past," Heim said. "We're implementing a category management system that has never been done in this industry. Ultimately category management will enable us to deliver more of what the customer really wants. They've been using this structure successfully in groceries and drugstores for years, and even though we're still in our infancy with this project, we're already seeing some really positive developments."

Although the events of September 11 put a damper on the 30th anniversary plans, Borders did go ahead with smaller, more intimate celebrations in each of its stores.

"Every one of our stores is unique," Heim said. "And we gave a lot of leeway to our general managers to do store-specific gatherings honoring long-time employees and customers. We also planned weekend musical events in all of our stores on October 13, with 30-cent coffee in our cafes. It's really important for people to kick back and relax right now, and our job is to provide a fun, welcoming atmosphere for our customers."

Borders, like many other booksellers in recent weeks, has seen a confirmation of the important role bookstores can play in times of crisis.

"It's important to pause after 30 years and celebrate our core values and all the things that we think make us such a unique and important part of so many people's lives," she said. "This is an information-hungry period, and people are also looking for diversion. I think people are really looking forward to the holidays this year, and there's a fabulous lineup of titles out there right now, one of the best book and music lineups we've seen in a very long time. Bookstores are a great resource, and a great environment to get away from the world, so we're hoping that maybe we can provide people with a bright moment in a dark time."