Content Crossroads & Distribution Junction
Declining Bookshelf Space
Declining shelf space for books in stores resulting from situations such as Waldenbooks closing down several of its stores will lead publishers to investigate alternate forms of distribution in 2007. Borders Group Inc. executives talked about closing underperforming Waldenbooks stores in 2007 during the Q3 2006 Borders Group Earnings Conference Call. “In the past 20 or 30 years, including us and Barnes & Noble and others, having superstores out there definitely changes the role that a mall bookstore would play. You’ve had the Internet, Amazon, people like that, but yet the mall stores have not changed very much … In my mind, it’s just not logical that would still be exactly the right mix and format to take advantage of that space,” said George Jones President/CEO of Borders Group. “So we are going to be more aggressive with closing underperforming locations going forward.”