Borders (Asia Pacific)
Encyclopedia
Borders is a bookseller in the Pacific area of Asia and Australasia. It consists of five Borders stores still open in New Zealand, and formerly Australia and Singapore.
in 2007.
Borders Group
sold all of their Australian, New Zealand and Singaporean stores to Pacific Equity Partners
(owner of competititor Angus & Robertson
) in 2008, this led to the forming of a new company called RedGroup Retail. Borders Group sold these stores to pay off debt. This resulted in the Borders stores in USA, UK (which had also been sold off to another company) and the Asia/Pacific stores to be completely unrelated to each other, besides their name.
as well as Whitcoulls
chains) were placed into voluntary administration with Ferrier Hodgson
appointed as administrators. The immediate aftermath of the announcement saw the closure of 48 Angus & Robertson stores and one Borders store. The day after the announcement, customers of the surviving stores were informed that gift vouchers could only be redeemed if they also spent an equivalent amount in cash. After 3 April, unused vouchers became void.
On 6 April, RedGroup Retail announced that 16 of the 25 remaining Borders stores in Australia were to close within two months. The handling of the administration prompted 25 franchised Angus & Robertson stores to sever ties with RedGroup, rebranding themselves as independents. By the end of May 70 of the 87 RedGroup-owned bookstores in New Zealand had been sold off: ten airport-based Whitcoulls stores to Australian-based LS Travel Retail Pacific, and another 57 Whitcoulls plus five Borders stores to the James Pascoe Group.
On 2 June 2011, the administrator announced the closure of the remaining nine Borders stores, as no buyer could be found. All stores in Australia were closed by July 2011.
The flagship Borders store at Wheelock Place, Singapore was suddenly closed on Aug 16 2011, and was forced to clear out by Aug 23 2011. Vouchers and gift cards from Borders Singapore bookstore could no longer valid. After hearing that the Borders store at Wheelock Place is shutting down, some people tried to use their vouchers on Saturday at its other outlet at Parkway Parade. But they were not allowed to do so. The books were cleared at a sale held at Singapore Expo Hall 4B, from 10am to 10pm, from Sep 2 2011 to Sep 6 2011. The remaining store closed on Sep 26 2011 at 9 pm, ending 14 years of sales in Singapore, just before the lease ends in October, but not before massive sales of 70% to clear all items which started 3 days before its closure. On the last hours of its business in Singapore, shelves, signs, baskets and computers at the cashiers' counters were also available for sale.
Borders stores in New Zealand remain open, but are likely to be rebranded as Whitcoulls
in 2012.
History
Borders (Asia Pacific) started in 1997 with the opening of its first store in Singapore, it then later expanded to open Borders stores in Australia and New Zealand. Just like its original US parent, it sells Books, CDs, DVDs and Stationery. Some stores also have Gloria Jean's coffee shop concessions in them. The second outlet in Singapore was opened at Parkway ParadeParkway Parade
Parkway Parade is a suburban shopping centre in Marine Parade, Singapore. Opened on March 9, 1984, it has a 17-floor office tower and a seven-storey shopping mall with a basement. Developed by Parkway Holdings, the company sold the building away in 2000 to Asia Pacific Investment Company and is...
in 2007.
Borders Group
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
sold all of their Australian, New Zealand and Singaporean stores to Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions primarily in Australia and New Zealand...
(owner of competititor Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson is a bookstore chain in Australia. Its first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Angus in 1884; it sold second-hand books. In 1886, he went into partnership with fellow Scot, George Robertson with whom he had worked earlier.- Bookselling history...
) in 2008, this led to the forming of a new company called RedGroup Retail. Borders Group sold these stores to pay off debt. This resulted in the Borders stores in USA, UK (which had also been sold off to another company) and the Asia/Pacific stores to be completely unrelated to each other, besides their name.
Administration
On 17 February 2011, RedGroup Retail (including the Borders, Angus & RobertsonAngus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson is a bookstore chain in Australia. Its first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Angus in 1884; it sold second-hand books. In 1886, he went into partnership with fellow Scot, George Robertson with whom he had worked earlier.- Bookselling history...
as well as Whitcoulls
Whitcoulls
Whitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in New Zealand, formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls...
chains) were placed into voluntary administration with Ferrier Hodgson
Ferrier Hodgson
Ferrier Hodgson is a group of Accounting firms specialising in Insolvency in the Australian and Asia Pacific region, with offices in all major capital cities in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan...
appointed as administrators. The immediate aftermath of the announcement saw the closure of 48 Angus & Robertson stores and one Borders store. The day after the announcement, customers of the surviving stores were informed that gift vouchers could only be redeemed if they also spent an equivalent amount in cash. After 3 April, unused vouchers became void.
On 6 April, RedGroup Retail announced that 16 of the 25 remaining Borders stores in Australia were to close within two months. The handling of the administration prompted 25 franchised Angus & Robertson stores to sever ties with RedGroup, rebranding themselves as independents. By the end of May 70 of the 87 RedGroup-owned bookstores in New Zealand had been sold off: ten airport-based Whitcoulls stores to Australian-based LS Travel Retail Pacific, and another 57 Whitcoulls plus five Borders stores to the James Pascoe Group.
On 2 June 2011, the administrator announced the closure of the remaining nine Borders stores, as no buyer could be found. All stores in Australia were closed by July 2011.
The flagship Borders store at Wheelock Place, Singapore was suddenly closed on Aug 16 2011, and was forced to clear out by Aug 23 2011. Vouchers and gift cards from Borders Singapore bookstore could no longer valid. After hearing that the Borders store at Wheelock Place is shutting down, some people tried to use their vouchers on Saturday at its other outlet at Parkway Parade. But they were not allowed to do so. The books were cleared at a sale held at Singapore Expo Hall 4B, from 10am to 10pm, from Sep 2 2011 to Sep 6 2011. The remaining store closed on Sep 26 2011 at 9 pm, ending 14 years of sales in Singapore, just before the lease ends in October, but not before massive sales of 70% to clear all items which started 3 days before its closure. On the last hours of its business in Singapore, shelves, signs, baskets and computers at the cashiers' counters were also available for sale.
Borders stores in New Zealand remain open, but are likely to be rebranded as Whitcoulls
Whitcoulls
Whitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in New Zealand, formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls...
in 2012.