Borders® Plans to Close Chicago Michigan Ave. Store in 2010; Commitment to Chicagoland Continues

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Borders today announced that it plans to close its store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago in January 2010. The company continues to have a strong commitment to Chicagoland with 19 stores throughout the area, including nearby locations on State Street, West North Avenue, North Clark Street in Lincoln Park and in the Citigroup Center — all of which are located within five miles of the Michigan Avenue store — plus others that are just minutes away.

“Borders has been a big part of Chicago for many years and that will not change with the decision to close this store,” said Senior Vice President of Borders Group Operations Steve Davis. “Chicagoland is one of our biggest markets and our stores are community gathering places where our customers enjoy many free in-store events including readings by nationally known authors and local talents, music performances, celebrity appearances, book clubs, discussion groups, community events, storytimes and parties for kids, as well as other activities for the whole family. For example, over the coming weeks, area stores will welcome author and NPR commentator Tavis Smiley as well as famed authors Jodi Picoult, Elizabeth Berg, P.C. and Kristin Cast and Lisa Scottoline, among others. Local stores will also host a number of hometown musical performers including The Shade, The Usual Mistakes and Reileen van Kaile. In addition, our Chicagoland stores will continue to support non-profit organizations in the community with book drives and benefit days that over recent years have assisted such groups as the Literacy Volunteers of Illinois and the Illinois Literacy Foundation; Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago; and the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.

“I want to emphasize that the employees of the Michigan Avenue store do a great job and we expect that they will continue to do so throughout this year,” Davis continued. “We appreciate the opportunity to serve the customers who have shopped at this store since 1995. It’s a difficult decision to close a store and we’ve done all that we can to keep this location open, but like a handful of other stores we have recently closed in cities ranging from Cincinnati to Santa Monica, this store has not met our profit objectives for some time now. In today’s economy, no retailer can afford to operate stores that do not produce the kind of results required to sustain a location, and therefore, we have no choice but to close the store in 2010. As we get closer to closing, we will work with the store’s approximately 100 employees to help with transitions to jobs at other area stores whenever possible.”