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As Borders struggles to dig itself out of debt, it has suspended payments to its vendors. And several publishers have stopped shipping to the book chain. Now add Diamond Book Distributors to that list. They have informed their clients that since Borders has suspended payments to them, DBD is suspending product shipments and has put the Borders account on hold. According to the announcement, Diamond is attempting to work with Borders to resolve the situation and “craft a solution that proves to be in the best interests of both DBD and our publishers.”

Border’s money woes continue to be of great concern to the book world, and several publishers have stopped shipping to the chain while they attempt to round up more financing. As reported today in Publishers Weekly, a huge meeting is planned for tomorrow afternoon between publishers and Borders:

Publishers, according to sources, will largely be represented by lawyers and finance executives who hope to hear more about the retailer’s new finance and turnaround plan from the Borders’ team. Publishers were unimpressed with the presentations made by Borders last week and the sense is that if Borders expects publishers to accept their proposal for publishers to exchange missed payments for notes, they need to hear a much more robust plan.


Borders also announced plans to close its LaVergne, Tenn. warehouse in mid-July, resulting in the downsizing of 310 employees. The warehouse is being closed as part of the ongoing financial restructuring.

1 COMMENT

  1. Borders will have two warehouses after Tennessee… one in California and one in Pennsylvania.

    Diamond does have a cushion regarding large number of returns… they can be redistributed to the Direct Market. Of course, Borders has been actively reducing inventory since 2009, so there might not be much to return.

    It’s looking like Borders will have to file for bankruptcy to better control the staggering debt they have. How will that affect distributors such as Diamond, and their clients?

  2. Bordes was going broke a LONG time ago. The media just picked up the story. They are known as treating employees the worse possible way and when they finally tank-you will see dances in the streets of former employees.

  3. Greed – I’m sure some Borders may not be great places to work, but the one here in my town is pretty universally loved. I’ve been going there for years now and there are five or six knowledgeable, engaging and pleasant employees there who have been working there from the day they opened.
    On a related note I think I spent the Borders gift card I received for Xmas just in time, especially considering I mostly bought TPBs.

  4. Does Borders really expect book publishers to keep sending them product, if they don’t plan on paying them anytime soon, if ever?!?

    How does that work in the real world, Borders?

  5. I’m sorry that people are losing jobs because of this, but I’m hopeful that it will give indy book stores (and comic shops) an opportunity to fill the void.

  6. Independent bookstores are best. Too bad so many went under when the big chain stores moved in. Mine has a anime club and all the manga you want.

  7. Borders has made more errors than could possibly be printed as to why their business is suffering. Just one of them is the way they’ve treated their employees. One of their most recent cost-cutting strategies was to fire 1-2 members of management at ever store across the country, then make 1-2 regular employees “Keyholders”, which means “unpaid supervisor”. Yes, these people had to take on the responsibilities of people in management, while receive not one dime more pay for their efforts. Making someone work in a managerial capacity, but not paying them for it is illegal, if I’m not mistaken. Just another perk of working for Borders, I guess But what the heck, raises have been suspended there for three years now.
    Another BIG mistake Borders made years & years ago that has hurt their sales, has been the allowance of customers to just come into their stores, sit down with a stack of their product, and let them read the books cover to cover. These freeloaders do not then get up and pay for the books they read, on the contrary, they’re usually left behind all dog-eared, with bent covers and cracked spines, making them impossible to sell to someone else, or to return to the publishers. Seriously, what other business lets you walk into their store and use or consume their products without paying for them first? If you have a hot date, do you walk into a hairdressers’ and get them to style your hair, then walk out without paying? Do you then go to the make-up counter at Macys and have them do a complete make-up job for you, then walk away without buying a thing? Do grocery stores allow you to sit in their ailes and chow down on a bag of Doritoes while reading a stack of teeny-bopper magazines, wash it down with a Diet Coke, then walk out without paying for any of it, leaving your mess behind in plain sight? No, of course not, but that’s exactly what Borders has allowed their customers (if you can call them that; I call them thieves) do for years, walk all over them, take advantage of them, steal from them, and they won’t do anything to stop it. It’s no wonder Borders has no money to pay it’s bills or their employees. That’s just one thing that has affected their bottom line, there are so many other reasons…too many.