Borders UK commercial director David Kohn said: “Books etc is still part of our plans. It’s trading pretty well at the moment.”
The previous management had been planning to dispose of Books etc since 2006, as it concentrated on its larger Borders superstores business. It put about 18 Books etc stores on the market and rebranded some airport stores as Borders.
Kohn said that trade in all of the Borders stores in the post-Christmas Sales has been satisfactory. “We would describe it as good satisfactory. We would never say we’re pleased with our performance, but we have come through our first Christmas under private ownership in good shape.”
Borders is gearing up to launch its transactional web site in March, which will offer several unique features in an effort to differentiate it from the competition.
The site will highlight Borders as a multichannel retailer. It will include a facility that enables users to access bespoke video content on the site, which Kohn claims is a first for a UK commercial web site. Borders has been working with online specialist Simply TV to create the site’s video elements.
“We think we’ve come up with some interesting technological developments that should make people want to visit us,” said Kohn.
Borders UK has 42 superstores, six airport Borders stores, two Borders Express stores and 20 branches of Books etc.
The retailer, whose sales were lifted by the release of the final Harry Potter novel in 2007, was bought by Luke Johnson’s Risk Capital Partners last September, when the private equity firm paid£10 million for a majority stake in the company, separating it from its US parent.
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