Borders History

Borders began in 1972, when Tom and Louis Borders opened a bookshop in the heart of Ann Arbor, an academic community in Michigan, USA. The first store was just 800 sq. ft and sold just used books. In 1973, Borders decided to sell new books; by 1974, the business was in its fourth location, a 10,000 sq. ft store. As it grew, Borders became known as one of the world’s finest bookshops – a place where customers could browse alone for hours, or rely on the friendly and well-informed staff to find exactly what they were looking for.

In 1974, Louis Borders designed one of the first computerised inventory control systems. This dispensed with cumbersome manual record keeping, and paved the way for Borders’ future growth. New Borders stores have opened every year since 1985 and the company has built on its book expertise through the addition of magazines, music, film and in-store cafés. Each development has been accompanied by Borders’ commitment to providing the best selection and service in each of its areas of operation.

In the summer of 1995, Borders Group Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange to move forward as an independent specialist business. Today, Borders continues to grow and enjoys a major presence in every significant US city.

In 1997, Borders commenced its international expansion, initially with the opening of a superstore in Singapore. In the autumn of that year, the company acquired Books etc. Ltd., one of Britain’s leading bookstore chains. It developed the Books etc. chain alongside the opening of Borders superstores. Borders’ expansion in the Pacific Rim has continued with stores opening in Australia, New Zealand and its first franchise store in Malaysia.

Books etc. history

Books etc. was founded in 1981 when Philip and Richard Joseph bought four shop leases from liquidators. The next four years were spent building up these existing shops and in 1986 the first new shop was opened and expansion began. In 1987, Hambros Group Investments took a 30% shareholding in the business. This provided the funding for the investment in new stores, EPOS and employee training.

Books etc. stores are bookshops that customers can rely on for finding the book they require as well as being assisted by helpful and well-trained staff. Each shop carries as wide a range of titles and the Company policy of autonomous buying allows each manager to fine tune their stock to match the local needs and customer profile.

Books etc. is well known for innovative and revolutionary ideas, one being in 1993 to offer customers a money-back guarantee, something that had never been done before in the book trade. This offer received extensive press coverage and helped to place the Company firmly on the bookselling map. In 1995 Books etc. successfully tendered for its first airport bookshop. There are now Books etc. stores in airports across the country.

Books etc. pioneered the lifestyle bookstore in this country by opening large, spacious shops offering customers not only books but stationery, magazines, cafés and comfortable sofas as well. The dual strategy of operating medium and large shops in major high street locations and small shops in airports has proved highly successful.

In October 1997 Books etc. was acquired by Borders Group Inc., who recognised that the Books etc. philosophy was very similar to its own.

The Borders (UK) Ltd head office is located in London and the two store distribution facilities are based in Cornwall.