Borders NOT closing / Ultimate Electronics is...

Apparently, there's a recent Buffalo News article stating that Borders Books will be closing. I don't get the newspaper, so I didn't see it. But I do know if that's what the article says, then it wasn't researched very thoroughly.

According to the Borders Orchard Park FaceBook page today...

Contrary to what The Buffalo News stated...YOUR Borders store will not be closing in the foreseeable future. The team at Orchard Park appreciates your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you all in store soon!

Show your support for the store and love of buying books by liking their FaceBook page. And go buy a book! If you're a fan of mysteries along the lines of Dan Brown's stuff (The Da Vinci Code), check out James Rollins. I've been reading my way through all his books lately. Subterranean is my favorite by him so far.

So while the Borders company itself is restructuring, the Buffalo stores (at least the Orchard Park one based on their FaceBook post) is safe and staying! :)

That's very good news to me as my favorite places to shop are bookstores, CD / record stores, and electronics stores.

Speaking of electronics stores though, it's sad news for the brand new Ultimate Electronics on Walden Avenue. The store just opened a little before Christmas and the entire company is now shutting down. Liquidation is already underway at Ultimate Electronics.

I was thrilled when they opened. Best Buy needs competition. The prices there noticeably went up after Circuit City closed. I had liked shopping at both, always searching for the best deals between the two. But with only one, the deals went away. Ultimate would have been a great alternative had it lasted. Hopefully, the store's employees will all easily find something else in the coming weeks.


UPDATE 2-16-11: The Borders Group filed for bankruptcy this morning. It was under Chapter 11, so this is a good thing - it'll help keep the company strong by allowing them to close underperforming stores (the Buffalo stores both seem to do very well). Here's the full article from PR Newswire.

The article also goes on to mention that gift cards and the Borders Rewards Program will continue to be honored. Something to keep in mind: JC Penney & K-Mart are two other large chains that have gone through this type of bankruptcy within the last ten years and both are still around and doing well. So this really isn't bad news if you're a regular buyer of books at Borders as I am.

Here's the WBEN online article about this and here's the list of stores that will be closing. Both Buffalo Borders stores - Orchard Park and Cheektowaga - will remain open.


UPDATE 7-18-11: Sadly, the end has now come for Borders as well. While there's still a glimmer of hope that about 30 stores or so will turn into Books-A-Million, it's bad news for the company as a whole.

Here's the full article.