Borders are breathing their last

The Abacus boys have moved into Borders and as eggs is eggs they will make sure they get their monies worth before they shut the doors forever. They are trying to get somebody to buy the business as a going concern but I don't hold out too much hope for that. The company has been run into the ground by the management for months now. I blogged here some six months ago and stated that you don't become a great bookseller by selling crisps and chocolate bars. The writing has been on the wall for ages but still a beligerent management continued on their blinkered path. You can't compete with the Tinternet and the supermarkets, so don't bother, do something different. Create a bookshop that is a customers delight. Fantastic customer service, brilliant events, become a part of the community, have a different stock profile. Even Amazon don't hold every book, they use wholesalers and publishers and it can take two weeks to get a book. The high street can compete, it just takes a bit of nouse and courage. Let the booksellers run the bookshops and the suits with their Harvard MBA's can count the pennies. Just because you've read Michael J Porter's Competitive Advantage, and Competitive Strategy don't think you have all the answers. You patently haven't.