Borders, the second-largest US bookstore chain, filed for bankruptcy today, the latest blow to an industry hard hit by competition from electronic readers and online booksellers.
Borders said it planned to close around 30% of its over 640 stores in the US as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which protects the company from its creditors while it reorganises.
'Borders Group does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor and which are essential for it to move forward with its business strategy,' Borders president Mike Edwards said.
Borders, which has a total of 6,100 full-time employees and 11,400 part-time employees, has lost millions of dollars in recent years as the book industry faces online competition and transitions from print to digital products.
The Michigan-based company reported a net loss of $168.2m in the first 11 months of its latest fiscal year.
In July, Borders launched an online electronic book store to challenge e-readers from Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Sony in the fast-growing market for digital books. But the move was seen as coming too late by many industry analysts.
Borders is not the only traditional brick-and-mortar bookseller in trouble. Last year, the money-losing number one US bookstore group, Barnes & Noble, indicated it was in discussions on a sale or other strategic options.
E-book sales have more than doubled in each of the last three years, and analysts expect the market for traditional booksellers to decline from 72% of sales to about 25% of sales in coming years.
Earlier this month, the Waterstone's bookshops on Dawson Street and in the Jervis Centre in Dublin closed with the loss of 46 jobs.
