Borders' Bankruptcy Means Opportunity for Independent Bookstores--But Where?

With hundreds of former Borders locations vacated comes the question of what to do with the spaces. They are generally just too large and expensive for other booksellers, writes Susan Stellin, though at least one landlord has made it work.

1 minute read

September 29, 2011, 6:00 AM PDT

By Judy Chang


"Their formula for success: The right size store for the community (2,700 square feet), a good location (patronized by residents and summer visitors), dedicated employees (the new store kept the long-serving Waldenbooks staff), and a carefully chosen mix of titles, geared toward customers' interests and employee picks."

"How many bookstores a community can support is an increasingly important factor in the Darwinian winnowing of the industry, influenced by the size of the population and local book-buying habits."

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 in New York Times

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