The Borders Group Inc. Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Borders Group Inc. Company - Case Study Example In addition, the company owned the once drastically growing Borders Books & Music super shops as well as the Planet Music retail shops. All over the nation, the Borders brand was linked with shops that exclusively served all book and song enthusiasts. This was because the company possessed an extensive collection of limited and extinct titles and albums in addition to a significant variety of diverse forms of electronic literature (Aspen, 33). The company outlets, which had grown to 116 by the end of 1996, all offered consumers wide and comfortable sitting and browsing chambers, a informed client care band, and coffee counters that had live leisure activity. Thesis statement: this paper seeks to examine the Borders Company comprehensively. It will expound on its inception, history, and the events that finally led to its collapse in late 2011. In particular, the paper will focus on the role of the company’s top management in its eventual demise from the literature and publishing arena. Introduction The Borders Group Inc. appeared on the scene after breaking off from its mother corporation, Kmart Corporation, in early May 2005. However, the original Borders brand was in existence from 1971. The advent of the Borders name happened due to the ingenuity of two brothers, Tom and Louis, who decided to open a single second-hand bookshop in Ann Arbor, in Michigan. The store’s initial target market was the then growing academic fraternity that schooled at the University of Michigan. In addition, the store enjoyed frequent patrons from the area’s smaller institutions of learning. Within a short time, the shop became popular, both as a literature store and as a hip hangout. As time passed, the store grew, and the brothers managed to acquire two more shops. One was in Michigan, whilst the other was in Indianapolis. Furthermore, the brothers also invested in a promising wholesale venture, which they named the Book In venture Systems (B.I.S.). This venture also caught on well a nd performed well. For a long period, the brothers had been contemplating on starting their own superstore. In the year 1985, they finally started their initial trial superstore. The trial version performed so well that, in combination with the growing level of competition, it revolutionized the retail paperback business, and influenced it to vacate mall-based business and invaded the crowded urban sections. By the end of 1988, the Borders stores had grown in number to five, and their BIS business already had 14 customers. In total, the company was raking in net revenue of $ 1.9 million dollars. This came from its business sales that amounted to about $ 32 million. However, the brothers itched for more (David 209). The 1980s The brothers, in their pursuit of nationalizing their shops, the brothers employed the services of Robert DiMuraldo, who was a Drexel Technology Institute Alumnus, in 1988. In addition, Robert also held a Harvard MBA. Robert had immense experience from Acme Mark ets and Little General Stores