Tough decisions call for leaders who seize the moment of uncommon business opportunities.  However, EVERY opportunity has a potential of boundless success, along with challenges and hurdles.  The major challenge/hurdle currently facing the furniture business is the economy, the manufactured imports, and the changing buying habits of customers. What is your Opportunity?  Just ask Joe Bograd or Sam Fishbein.  They left the marketplace with their integrity intact and without a shred of debt!  They closed down on their own terms (not some shady liquidator’s terms), with their heads held high, and with every piece of furniture delivered and every single customer taken care of.  It can be done the right way!  Hiring a Sales Promotion expert to help you with ALL the details might be your first step.

Research show that a properly conducted sale event will (at a minimum) double the volume of a sale that is engineered by a store’s management.  So, there is no doubt that a store owner or CEO should choose a Professional Sales Promotion Company when facing a large, storewide event; maximizing the financial and positive public relations of a Remodeling, Remerchandising, Anniversary, Relocation or Retirement is a smart business decision for you, your stockholders and your customers.

When closing a business, the role of a Professional Sales Promotion business is crucial.  Credit issues, state and local statutes, employment issues, extra help, accurate projections, a broom-clean store(s) at completion, and profits you put in YOUR pocket!  The Promotion Company handles all these.

The question that an owner/CEO should contemplate when confronting the issues is not: “Should I hire a company to help me maximize the return of a sale” but “What company should I choose?”

A small amount of due diligence is appropriate.  When researching, look for the company that has the longest number of years in the sales promotion business.  Look at their past and present client list, and see if they are doing or have done business with stores like yours.   Look at their marketing and advertising methods; quality of their web site and print advertisements; their use of social media; their history and recommendations; and most importantly, study their contracts!

A sales promotion company should NOT have a multiple-page, complex agreement.  Simply put: the more complicated, the fewer dollars you keep!   Check to see if a company has had lawsuits brought against them by their clients, or have been in trouble with local authorities or with States’ Attorneys-General.

Don’t be fooled.  All Sales Promotion Companies are not ‘created equally.’  Most are hard-core liquidators claiming that they are experts in Sales Promotion.  Most retailers really don’t want to turn over their checking account, keys, employees, good name and reputation, and overall control to a liquidator.  It is NOT NECESSARY.

In sum:  furniture retailing is changing quickly.  Since 1914 the Lynch Sales Company, originator of the Sales Promotion business and the first company of its kind, is the firm to be trusted in today’s very unstable economic environment.  Trust our one page contract, our track record for working with the best stores, our 98 years in business, our innovative additional inventory program, our credit program, our non-litigious business practices, and many other details that make Lynch the firm with uncompromising integrity and unparalleled results.

Our economy has changed quite remarkably giving us reason to believe that we must adapt to our changing times.  Ashley Furniture Home Stores, IKEA, and Rooms To Go are the number one, two, and three retail furniture companies in the country.  They obviously have determined what the ‘Buying Public’ wants and gives it to them.  Unfortunately, the customer does not want the treasured generational, handed-down keepsakes that have long built the furniture business.  They want what looks good to them at an affordable price.  This is a disposable society that has been weaned on this concept for the last several years.  Cars, phones, TV’s, jewelry, sound systems, and much more are becoming interchangeable as the populace demands in this ever-present ‘I-want-the-latest-and-greatest’ community.  Because the economy has faltered, people have lost their homes, their jobs, and their dignity.   They don’t care what people think anymore.  They want what they want, and they want it now!  What happens to the mainline furniture store that has been in business for years?  Where are the customers from days gone by?  Why am I not enjoying the furniture business any longer?  What happened to the discretionary part-of-the-dollar in household budgets that was assigned to home furnishings? Most importantly, “WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?”

It is time to ask some difficult questions.  The ANSWERS to these questions could mean the difference between success and failure.

1. Will the economy turn around anytime soon?
2. Is my annual volume on the downslide?
3. Am I losing business to the chains and catalogue houses?
4. Am I just keeping my head above water?
5. Am I so emotionally attached to my business that I am afraid to let go?

Why are these ANSWERS important?  Because the answers will determine your course of action.  So many furniture stores have gone bankrupt and HAD to leave the industry in a manner less than suitable. On the other hand when faced with adversity, some retailers like Bograd’s (in New Jersey) and Kacey Fine Furniture (in Colorado) exited the marketplace not only with their integrity, AND with a nice next egg to provide for their families.  They made a sound and fortuitous decision.  They did not wait until it was too late.  In fact, Joe Bograd has an interesting observation about the viability of high-end furniture retailing:  “This was a very tough decision for us. We would not trust anyone but the Lynch Sales Company to close our store. We hired the Lynch Sales Company because of their integrity, their people, the simplicity of their contract and because they are the only ones that truly understand the high-end business.’‘…..“But I cannot close my business that I worked so hard to build all of these years,” YOU might say.  What’s the alternative?  Hang on too long and then really be upside down with no way out?

Tomorrow will be sunny but breezy, with gusts of up to 29 mph. High will be 62. New Year’s Day will cool down, as the high dips to 46.

Today’s picks

• OzarksFirst: Full night of activities for First Night Springfield. First Night Springfield 2012 is a family-friendly event that takes place in downtown Springfield on New Year’s Eve. More than 20 performances are planned.
• KSPR: CU alters bus schedule for New Year’s. CU Transit Services will be operating on a modified holiday schedule on New Year’s Day.
• KY3: Project to provide storm shelters in Joplin. Project JOMO is trying to provide affordable — and in some cases, free — storm shelters for households throughout Joplin.
• News-Leader: Kwanzaa celebration brings families together. A Thursday community event sponsored by the Ladies Civic League highlighted the principles of Kwanzaa, a holiday to celebrate the “first fruit,” or harvest.
• OzarksFirst: No Springfield Sears or Kmart stores on initial list. A partial list of 79 Sears and Kmart stores slated to close (PDF) had no Springfield locations on it. Sears (Other coverage: KY3)
• News-Leader: Grants aid DWI enforcement. With grants from the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and the Springfield Police Department received new vehicles specifically designed for DWI enforcement.

Image via Wikipedia

Sears Holding Corporation just released their store closing list and two area Sears stores are on the chopping block.  The Coventry Mall and 69th Street Sears stores are closing.  No Kmart stores will be closed in Pennsylvania and no other Sears store in Pennsylvania will close, other than Pottstown and Upper Darby.

The Sears store at Coventry Mall predates the mall.  Originally Sears was in downtown Pottstown and moved across the river into North Coventry Township as a stand alone store.  When the mall was built in 1967, Sears was connected to the mall.  The Sears store is last surviving original anchor store at Coventry Mall. 

Sears retail stores have been in decline for several decades.  Sears was the nation’s largest retailer until the 1980′s but has declined considerably since then.  In 2005 Sears merged with Kmart.  Kmart purchased Sears and Kmart Holding Corporation changed its name to Sears Holding Corporation.

Sears built and owned what is still the tallest building in the United States, the Sears Tower in Chicago.  In 1993, Sears sold their skyscraper and moved into an office park setting in Hoffman Estates, IL.

All three of my Etsy shops are updated.  Everything that is going on sale, is now on sale.

All jewelry in Bramble Oak on Etsy is marked down to 80% off.

EVERYTHING (supplies, vintage and collectible goodies) in my Gypsy Wynd on Etsy is 50% – 80% off.

EVERYTHING in my Rustic Diva Designs shop is up to 90% off.

AND…. I’ve knocked down most items in my Yardsellr at least 50%!  I will be adding most of the rest of my stash to my Yardsellr so if you’re looking for beads, yarn, fabric, jewelry findings, VHS movies, books, collectibles, vintage goodies or an assortment of other things… this is the place to go!

Other than that… things have been quieting down.  Christmas was good and I enjoyed my time with the family.  Kids are still on Winter break and I’m really loving having them at home.

2nd order of business for the jewelry is going through the heaps and heaps of things I’ve made and getting it all listed.  THAT will be a chore. 

One of my other shops Rustic Diva Designs on Etsy has also been discounted up to 90%.  That shop is closing completely.  Everything is $2.00 and under so hopefully it’ll all go quickly.  If anyone is looking for mini cards or simply sewn or crocheted goodies, now is the time to head on over.  I also have a ton of other items (not listed there) that need to be sorted and listed somewhere too.  Ahhh, so much to do and so few hours in the day.

By: Joseph F. Connolly

The year was 1955 and as a young boy, I most fondly remember the milkman driving up to our house in his truck to deliver bottled milk with cream at the top of the bottle.  The glass bottle had a cardboard cap over its top. We could select eggs, butter, and any other dairy products we wanted.   Shortly after, the bakery truck would pull up and deliver our loaves of bread with any pastry desired from the bakery.   Also, reminiscing about this time for me was the familiar site of the catalogues that adorned our coffee table like Montgomery Ward (that started their catalogue business in 1872 along with Sears initiating their catalogue business between 1888-1894).  What fun it was to pore over their catalogue/magazines and to look at all the choices available in clothing, furniture and many new-fangled items.   I remember when every dinner meal was served at the formal dining set and the whole family was required to attend as we told of our day’s activities.  Our parents would entertain in the living room for social functions.  The public rarely got a glimpse of the rest of the house for this was ‘our private home’.   When we went shopping for furniture, it was usually a family outing.  To see the big furniture store with all of the displays was like going to an event!  The hustle and bustle of downtown, crowded streets, parallel parking, and oh, the selection!  We were so excited for that first “new” sofa that we could hardly wait to have it delivered so we could show it off.  It was a very different time.

Now, imagine that the year is 2112, and the families have become so indoctrinated as they nest/gather into the ‘family space’ relying totally on electronics.  They purchase their clothes, their cars (with test drive included), their groceries, their music and shows and, oh yes, their furniture by virtual reality.  The experience seems so real and it is just as though they were present to feel the texture, see every color hue, taste and smell the aromas, and hear the wonderful sounds that are appealing.   The television is a relic and nobody has one except as an antique.  Gone are the catalogues from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and the like.  The kids constantly nag you to borrow the space ship for a little ‘planet-hopping’.  Seem unrealistic or futuristic?  Look how far we have come in the last 100 years.  Who knows, maybe not!  Most assuredly THEY will be different times.

Visit us daily for the 2nd and 3rd parts of this article.

Here are some of my favorite pieces that I will be checking out if & when I make my way to the local Kmart store.  The flared ink wash jeans ($20.99) are an easy fix to putting together a polished, but dressed down look for casual Fridays at the office.  Then after work, when you’re heading out for cocktails, throw on the lace back dress ($14.39) in green, which has a little surprise when you turn around to tip the bartender.

If you’re daring enough to show off your gams, try the lace micro mini skirt ($8.99) with a silk blouse & opaque tights.  If you’re looking for some glitzy shoes to wear when ringing in the new year, the tipsy red carpet pump ($19.99) in gold is the perfect way to complete your look.  Also, there are just some days when animal print does just the trick, so take a look at the bustier dress ($21.59), which is available in both neutral & grey, emphasizing your best assets. For a little splash of shine, the oval links bracelet ($9.99) in silver makes for a trendy way to punch up an LBD.  Lastly, ’tis the season for jegging jeans ($17.99) with an ultra slim ankle, perfect for wearing under boots of all heights.

I have previously reported on the collection, as seen here, but be sure to check back with Style Darling, as well as on the Kmart site for newer styles & markdowns on these sexy looks! Happy Styling!

CLICK HERE for more words from Joe & Mark Bograd.

via Google News:

http://urlet.com/dec.irresistible

UPDATE:  The first list of 80 or so closures is here:  http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf  So far stores in Humboldt are unaffected however the Sears in Roseburg Oregon is on the block.

As I sit around and look at all of this crafting clutter, the thought that comes to mind is WHY?  Why do I do what I do?  Basically comes down to the fact that I started crafting because I am a crafty person at heart.  I liked to create things because it was fun.  Now, I try to create things to sell and that’s about it.   And, with the economy the way it is…. crafting has unfortunately become a dissapointment for me.   The fun of it all seems to have left the building.   

So….. I believe that next year I will be whittling down my crafting adventures to about 10% - 20%  of what I do now.  The hard part will be choosing what I want to keep doing and what I want to stop doing. 

what I do (a little personal inventory):

drawing/painting – this will stay as it’s a huge part of who I am

jewelry making – this will probably have to go.  Market is too flooded with handmade jewelry and I don’t make anything that can’t be easily created by someone else.

crochet  – mostly go except for making a few things for family. 

sewing – same as the crochet…

paper crafting/card making – this will probably go for the most part.  Maybe keep a few things around for personal use.

vintage collectibles – it’s all going.  I just don’t have the room.

I guess this is going to be an effort to simplify things here.  This is also going to be one helluva sale once it gets rolling because this is a HUGE amount of supplies!  The supplies sale will most likely will be in my Yardsellr shop and then I will be closing up two of my Etsy shops for good.   My Bramble Oak Etsy shop will stay for now…. but Gypsy Wynd and Rustic Diva Designs will be going out of business.  It’s been a good run but times are a-changing and it’s time to look toward other things and start simplifying.  So, I guess that’s it.  Feels better to have written down what I have been thinking about for months.

TTFN

Lynch Sales Company copyrighted Sale Plans are custom designed to meet your business’ needs and situation. They are strategically designed to achieve at least 30 percent and as much as 100 percent of your store’s annual volume in just 30 selling days. We maintain the reputation and integrity of your business.

We have coordinated thousands of successful Sales, generating crucial cash flow for prominent retailers throughout the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom, including members of the NHFA and more than 200 Ethan Allen stores. The Wall Street Journal has described us as the sales event specialist “that furniture dealers say is reliable.”

• Trade Expansion Sales
• Relocation Sales
• Re-merchandising Sales
• Remodeling Sales
• Inventory Reduction Sales
• Cash Raising Sales
• Retirement Sales
• Business Building Sales
• Consolidation Sales
• Complete Close-Out Sales

A Lynch Sales Company Plan: The Specifics

Upon receipt of our one page contract, we immediately begin preparing for your Lynch Sale. An experienced Lynch Coordinator will arrive seven days prior to the sale date to coordinate all aspects of the event and remain throughout the entire sale. If you desire, we provide additional private label merchandise, to complement your existing inventory. We train your existing sales staff using our copyrighted “Sales Person’s Guide and Selling Techniques” booklet and video, and we provide additional sales specialists and staff who come from backgrounds with quality stores such as yours.

• We plan and write all advertising materials based on your goals.
• We generate tremendous cash flow while building a stronger customer base.
• We furnish our copyrighted, sales-generating direct mail pieces and press releases.
• We obtain additional targeted mailing lists to supplement your existing list.
• We not only maintain a reasonable expense budget, we adjust that budget weekly to keep it affordable.
• We charge a commission based on performance and volume.
• We receive no payments until after the first week of the sale.

Call (800) 824-2238 to receive our Complete Outline or to schedule a free, informational meeting at a time and place convenient for you.

A bridal shop on Milwaukee’s south side is closing its doors after nearly 30 years of business. The owner of Apollo Bridal Fashions on Historic Mitchell St. is retiring, and some wonder what will happen to the dresses the store still has in stock.

For nearly three decades Croatian refugee Rosi Sercl has helped brides find a dress of their dream at her store. It’s a bittersweet goodbye to a business she’s spent years building. Instead of selling the thousands of gowns in her inventory, she’s donating them to four local charities.

St. Vincent De Paul Society picked up more than a thousand dresses, and helped haul away racks of expensive gowns.

The dresses will be sold at a fundraiser next year at a discounted price. It’s a win-win situation for brides and the children St. Vincent De Paul helps.

Sercl tells FOX6 her next big project is becoming a “Real Grandma” by helping her daughter raise two young grandchildren.

In the US the profit for the Gap fell 19% in the most recent quarter. Gap Inc also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. Sales at both Gap and Banana Republic were down for the last quarter, while at Old Navy the sales were flat. Even though Gap stores are being closed in the US, they are expanding in China. The retailer is hoping to have about 45 stores in China by the end of 2012.

What are your thoughts, do you shop at the Gap? Will you be sad to see some of the stores close?

Honestly, those in the book industry are never happy to see a bookstore close — this seems a great time to thank all of our readers for supporting Schuler Books, your local, independent bookseller! The closing (which is said to be due to failed lease re-negotiations) will leave the Schuler locations in the Eastwood Towne Center and the Meridian Mall as the major book outlets for the east side of Lansing and the MSU community.

What I’m worried about, as an MSU alumni, is what the city of East Lansing is going to do with that storefront space! It’s a huge store, stretching half a block – I really hope they find something good to fill it. Such a large empty storefront is NOT what we want to see!

Check out the few details that are currently available in the Lansing City Pulse article after the jump, and tell us, what do you think should go in that prime store space?

East Lansing Barnes & Noble closing

by Nicole LaChance

It’s the final week of Border’s book store.  This is very sad for me for two reasons.  

A) Borders is/was the only book store by my house!

and

B) I used to go in Borders and pretend that my future book (which I do plan on writing after college) was featured there and people would be crowded around it, buying the copies like hot cakes.  (When I told my sister this reason, she replied sympathetically, “Oh!  That’s depressing!”)

With that said, I made sure that I went to my closing local Borders and stocked up on the cheap books.  I recommend everyone does the same.  Everything is 70-90% off and they’re selling the ENTIRE store.  The light fixtures, the bar area, the book and magazine racks, the shelves, the couches and chairs and tables.  EVERYTHING is going!

I walked out of there with 5 books – two on Jane Goodall, one on a lion, one on journalism and one on writing.  For all 5 books, I spent $30.00 and on the bottom of my receipt it stated in bold letters: YOU HAVE SAVED $55.00 TODAY!

It’s definitely worth it and if not to just buy cheap books then to say goodbye to Borders.

]]> http://retailrainmaker.com/2011/09/12/hello-world/ Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:44:37 +0000 Julia http://retailrainmaker.com/2011/09/12/hello-world/ We’ve got the answers — more coming soon!

So… I couldn’t do it; it felt fundamentally wrong to buy books from the store. I kept thinking of the ten thousand laid-off Borders employees,  and the air of misery at this outlet made me reluctant to acquire books from there.  I can recall the provenance of just about every book on my shelves, and I knew that each time I looked at these purchases, I’d associate them with the palpable unhappiness at that Borders. I’m aware my actions are at best sentimental and at worst idiotic, lacking any moral or ethical weight, but I put the books in my basket back on the shelving cart. So I didn’t buy The Year of the Flood,  The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Education of a British Protected Child, Solar, and Too Much Happiness, each of which was under six dollars.

I did, however, buy a jigsaw puzzle for my son, because he lay down on the floor  and dry heaved on seeing my empty book basket. I empathize, dude. And I bought  Howl: A Graphic Novel for my husband, who had managed my son for the hour I browsed around that store, which will no doubt have morphed into a Claire’s Accessories the next time I visit the United States.

(Image from Howl; see more images here.)

I can remember, being a little girl in love with R.L Stein and Fear Street.  My mother always had a rule, she’d never say no to a book.  So every Friday, after school, we’d pile in her mini van and drive to B. Dalton (a subsidiary of Borders).  I’d hightail it to the kids fiction section, and there, on the bottom self was every Fear Street book published.  I’d sit on the floor and read the backs, picking one or two that would last me the whole week, I was the sort of kid that loved to read.  I’d carry my selection to my mom would plunk down cash at the register and hand me the plastic bag.  It was my idea of fun.  And maybe, somewhere in that memory, is the reason I have this unyielding desire to be a writer.  Because I remember the way those books made me feel and I’d love the chance to give that feeling back in return. But that wouldn’t be possible without that first love–and so imagining my life without a Borders is…odd….

I stopped in the other day, lured by the transient workers, holding signs in neon yellow-nothing held back, everything must go.  I walked through the doors and had a pure moment of vertigo.  This wasn’t my place anymore.  The coffee shop was closed, piled to the ceiling with cases and chairs and end caps, all for sale.  The leisurely pace of a bookstore replaced with a grab and dash mentality.  I found erotic in travel, and YA in mystery.  Best selling books hidden behind magazines.  It was…in a word…sad.

I know this is a taste of their own medicine.  That not so long ago, Borders blew into town with it’s free membership offering 20% a best selling book and undercut a bagillion locally owned stores, shutting them down systematically while they counted their cash all the way to the bank.  But still, it’s unfortunate.

I own a Kindle, and therefore, I take a lump of responsibility.  I moved on.

I stopped in less, and when I did, I bought less.  I’d go there only to sneak peeks at what was being newly published, making reminders to look the books up on Amazon when I got home.

Bookstores are an otherworldly place.  The moment you walk in the door, you enter a world that is full of great stories, great loves, great heartbreak, betrayal, redemption.  No where else is so much kept, waiting to be found, read, enjoyed, remembered.

I think the change is going to inspire more people into the eReader realm.  With less brick and mortar book stores, people are going to seek out other ways of reading.  I’m considering becoming an Indie Author, and for that reason, the idea excites me–a potential bonanza of new readers coming everyday.  But it’s still taking a huge chunk of history and washing it away.

I’ll always remember the discovers I had in Borders.  I’ll always miss the way it felt to walk in there and find the next great read.  But, life goes on…so, goodbye Borders, we had a good run…

Dan's change ... I haven't seen this one yet ("Ask me about my giant ....."). Sorry, Mr. Washington, but I won't be asking.

While my mom and sister were visiting this weekend we took a little trip to Borders since it is having a closing sale.  My dad has decided to start bee keeping so we went to the book store to get him a bee keeping book and ended up spending over an hour there looking around (I am a book junkie!!).

Once we finished looking we went to the check-out and this is what Dan got as his change… I don’t think that I am going to ask…

This is where I met Leslie. Leslie was not happy. She was angry. And if her scowl was not enough of a message, she had it written on her name tag:

“They lied to us.”

Of course, being the guy I am, I had to ask her. But how do you ask about this? You really have to just read her angry sharpie message out loud. So, I did.

“They lied to us.”

“That’s right they did. They said they were going to only close the one on the West Shore and they did. But they said we would be fine. They said we wouldn’t have to worry. But they lied to us. They outright lied to us.”

“I’m sorry,” and I think she’s heard this before. Meanwhile, my girls are just watching. Well, Claire and Lily are. Alice doesn’t really care. She’s content with her pacifier.

“I’m not worried about myself. I’m retired. I’m here only part time. But I’m worried about these others who are here full time, that were pulled from other closing stores to be put here so they would have a job. What are they going to do?” She looks hard at me, “What are they going to do?” she repeats.

I repeat my condolences and we leave with the boon we got from their demise. Like vultures leaving the scene of the latest carnage from the lion attack.

In the van, Claire has a look of annoyance. “Why did you talk to that woman? She seemed mad.”

“She wasn’t mad. She was upset. They can be very similar but they’re not the same.”

“But why did you talk to her?”

“Why not? She looked like someone who needed someone to talk to. She wanted someone to pay attention to her, and thats ok when you’re really upset. Its not her fault her store is closing. She needed someone to know that she cares, and so I let her tell me.”

“Well, I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

In my head I thought, “Pastor’s prerogative.”

And then she starts reading over his shoulder and doesn’t get to the bookstore.

Which is why Borders, Borders Express, and Waldenbooks are going the way of the dinosaurs.

I got this email that says everything at that trio of stores is 40% off because they’re going out of business. And you can only use your Borders Bucks until July 31.

We’re all gonna start missing bookstores soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for subscribing to Drugstore Divas! For the full effect, please visit the site.

There was indeed a Borders Books & Music store in Tacoma, where we lived at the time. Predictably, it became our favorite place to hang. We would spend hours browsing, reading, having coffee, talking, and of course, shopping! We became regulars to the point of not needing to place orders at the coffee shop. The baristas would invariably have our selections ready and waiting for us the minute we walked in. What a pleasure! What an oasis for the soul! Soft music in the background, sometimes jazz, sometimes classical, live music on Friday evenings, book signings from time to time, and the sales! The bargain section–frugalistas that we are–always a favorite.

One day, we were faced with a move across the country, to Georgia. It was a relocation for me with the company I worked for at the time. As crazy as this may sound, one of the “deal breakers” for this move was whether or not there would be a Borders Bookstore near us. Fortunately, there was. So we moved.

I loved Borders so much, that I ended up working for them as a part-timer (in addition to my full-time job), just for the sheer pleasure of becoming immersed in its culture, the books, etc. After a while, I decided I didn’t have the energy to hold down two jobs, besides the fact that I didn’t really need the money (which truth be told, it wasn’t that much anyway, and it mostly financed my book habit plus gas), so I went on a “contingency status,” which means I was called when needed. This worked out fine, because I still was part of the company, plus I could still enjoy the employee discounts, the first stab at the promo items, etc. Thanks to this, I was able to build quite a neat little music library with all the promo CDs I was able to get, FOR FREE! Same for books. We got publishers’ proofs, BEFORE titles went on the market, so that was cool too.

But eventually, they stopped calling me… Alas, that should have been my first inkling that things were slowing down. But who would’ve thunk it? How could such a great company, one that had almost become an institution among the book-loving contemporary “cafe society” folks go down like this?

And now it’s all over. We will miss you, Borders. You leave us quite bereft and ungrounded. Because Barnes & Noble is not an adequate substitute. But that’s just my opinion.

=-=-=-=-=
Powered by Blogilo