News Release

Contact:

Borders Ireland Marketing

Heidi Murphy

Telephone +44 (0)78410 52019

hmurphy@bordersgroupinc.com Borders Corporate Communication

Alex Hippisley-Cox

Telephone +44 (0)208 488 3764

ahipcoxpr@btconnect.com

18 October 2006

BORDERS OPENS FIRST SUPERSTORE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 27 OCTOBER

Special guests Paul McGrath and Cathy Kelly to visit new West Dublin superstore for grand opening weekend

Borders opens its first book, music and movie superstore in the Republic of Ireland in the West Dublin suburb of Blanchardstown on Friday 27^th October.  The action-packed grand opening weekend begins with a high-profile pre-opening party on the evening of Thursday 26^th October and the doors will officially open to customers at 10 a.m. the following morning when a local schoolchild will cut the ribbon.  Throughout the weekend, celebrity book signings by football legend Paul McGrath and bestselling novelist Cathy Kelly, plus children’s readings and entertainment, and music from local jazz band Bop Five, will ensure that Borders Blanchardstown is ‘the’ place to be.

Borders Group Chief Executive Officer George Jones said “It is our company’s mission to be the preferred place for knowledge and entertainment throughout the world. Our expansion into Ireland is part of achieving this mission and we thank the community for welcoming us with such enthusiasm.  This new location will serve as a cultural centre, meeting the needs of a community that is rich in literary history and as passionate as we are about books and the importance of literacy worldwide.”

Conveniently located on the N3 Navan Road just off the M50 ring road, the WestEnd Retail Park, where the new Borders superstore is located, offers a distinguished mix of well-known retail brands and is only a 10- to 15- minute commute from the centre of Dublin.  The new 22,000-square-foot Blanchardstown superstore will feature more than 100,000 books, music, periodicals and movies, and will follow the family-friendly retail park format that has become so popular with customers in Great Britain.  The spacious ground floor will display Borders' comprehensive range of books, CDs and DVDs, a Paperchase stationery and gift shop, newspapers, and the widest selection of magazines in the marketplace.

There will be a strong focus on books written by Irish authors - including Irish Biography, History, Cookery and Sport, as well as Irish Fiction – in addition to many English language titles from around the world. The Blanchardstown store will also carry a range of Irish language titles and will offer a customer order service.  The children’s section is expected to be particularly popular as the scene of many special children’s events such as story time on the weekends.  The mezzanine floor will feature a Starbucks coffee shop, and customers will be welcome to bring books and magazines to the Starbucks shop or to take their coffee downstairs to drink as they browse.

Early morning opening hours at the new store mean that commuters will be able to purchase coffee and newspapers on their way to work, and late closing will allow them to pick up books, CDs or movies on their way home. Like all Borders stores worldwide, the shopping environment at Borders Blanchardstown will be warm and inviting with plenty of comfortable chairs throughout, encouraging customers to relax and spend time exploring the store.  It will also play host to regular free, in-store events including book signings, music performances, and children’s activities.  A number of exciting events have already been confirmed for November including children’s book readings by popular authors and a visit from BBC TV’s ‘Cash in the Attic’ star Jonty Hearnden.

Borders has appointed Paul Rutherford as general manager of the Blanchardstown store.  Previously general manager of Borders Inverness in Scotland, Paul was recently named “Manager of the Year” at The Bookseller Retailer Awards, and he will be an excellent ambassador for Borders in the Republic of Ireland. Borders has a strong commitment to superior customer service and the bookselling team has undergone intensive training in product knowledge and customer care.

Borders Ireland Ltd. was established in 2006. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc., a leading global retailer of books, music, movies and stationery with over 34,000 employees, more than 1,300 stores in the US, UK and Asia Pacific, and 2005 revenues of over $4 billion. Borders UK was recently named ‘Retail Chain of the Year’, for the second year in succession, at The Bookseller Retail Awards and at the British Book Trade Awards earlier in 2006 won 'Bookselling Company of the Year'. More information on the company can be found at www.bordersgroupinc.com

-ends-

Media contacts for further information, photographs and interviews:

Borders Ireland Marketing

Heidi Murphy

Telephone +44 (0)78410 52019

hmurphy@bordersgroupinc.com Borders Corporate Communication

Alex Hippisley-Cox

Telephone +44 (0)208 488 3764

ahipcoxpr@btconnect.com