Borders Group and Berjaya Group, a public corporation in Malaysia with a variety of business interests, have signed a "memorandum of understanding" for Berjaya Group to operate Borders stores in Malaysia under a franchise arrangement. This is Borders's first franchise agreement anywhere in the world.
The first Borders store in Malaysia will open next April in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, at Berjaya Times Square, which Borders described as the country's "largest shopping mall." Under the franchise agreement, Borders will source the titles, which primarily will be in English but will include books in Malay and Chinese. It will also provide training and systems support, while Berjaya will operate the store "consistent with the Borders brand experience."
While bookstore franchising is rare in the U.S., it has a stronger history in the South Pacific. In Australia, where Borders has 11 stores, one of the dominant chains consists mostly of franchise operations, while the other two are a mix of company-owned and franchise stores.
Vin Altruda, president of Borders stores worldwide, noted that the first Borders store outside the U.S. opened in Singapore in 1997 and, he said in a prepared statement, "We look forward to expansion into Malaysia as an extension of the successful presence we have in Singapore."
