Bryn Mawr Borders Not Among 200 Stores Closing Nationally

Though the Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week and is closing 200 stores across the nation, the Bryn Mawr Borders is safe for now.

Bryn Mawr Borders management said they are not allowed to comment on the bankruptcy and deferred comment to a national Borders spokesperson.

“The 200 stores that are closing are underperforming stores for us,” said Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis. “Right now we’re focused on the 200 and are not commenting on any possible future closings of stores.”

Borders stores in nearby Wynnewood and Exton are staying open along with the Bryn Mawr Borders. But the Borders at the King of Prussia Mall is among the stores that have closed in the greater Philadelphia area.

“I usually go to the one in the King of Prussia Mall, so it kind of sucks they’re closing,” said Sonia Mirza, who was shopping at the Bryn Mawr Borders last week. “I kind of liked the King of Prussia one – it was one of the biggest ones, so it’s kind of weird they would actually close that one. I hope they decide to open it again.”

Mirza is an alumna of Bryn Mawr College and said the Bryn Mawr Borders always tended to be a cooler destination than other bookstores in the area.

The stores that Borders is closing amounts to about 30 percent of all Borders, according to a national press release issued Feb. 16, and it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for reorganization relief.

“This decisive action will give Borders the opportunity to achieve a proper infusion of capital in order to have the opportunity to have the time to reorganize in order to reposition itself to be a successful business for the long term,” Borders Group President Mike Edwards said in the release.

Borders Rewards members also received an e-mail assuring them that both Borders Rewards and Borders Plus programs will continue, gift cards are still redeemable, Borders.com is running normally, eBook libraries are staying in place and Borders is still aiming to maintain a national presence.

“We are confident that, with the protection afforded under Chapter 11 and with the support of employees, publishers, suppliers and creditors, and the reading public, a successful reorganization can be achieved enabling Borders to emerge from the process as a stronger and more vibrant book seller,” Edwards wrote in the news release.