The meeting that could shape the immediate future of Borders Group is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. 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 confirmed that it will officially shut its LaVergne, Tenn. warehouse by mid-July. The company has been downsizing the distribution center for about one year and said that due to excess capacity it was closing the facility, a move the will eliminate 310 jobs. Borders will now ship from two warehouses in Carlisle, Penn. and Mira Loma, Calif. Although it said the closing is part of its longterm plan to improve operating efficiencies and cut expenses, Borders said the closing “is not related to Borders’ previously reported refinancing effort or the delay of certain vendor payments in connection with the refinancing effort.”
