Logan Borders store is one of two in Utah forced to close
The Bankruptcy of Borders bookstores recently resulted in the closure of hundreds of stores nationwide, including Logan’s site located on 1050 N. Main Street.
The store is expected to close by late April, due to the financial detriment the company faces. The chain will close 30 percent of its total stores in the next two months. On Feb. 16, Borders filed for Chapter 11 protection, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States.
Logan Borders employee Jared Gunnell, who is also a USU student, said 200 of the 642 stores across the United States will be closing their doors in the allotted time.
The Logan store as well as the Murray branch are the two Utah Borders stores to close, leaving the Provo location open.
Many, including employees and long-time customers, expressed their disappointment from the news of the store’s closure.
“Yeah, the crew there, the whole Borders team I have really enjoyed,” said Ethan DeVilbiss, Borders employee and USU student. “It’s been an awesome job, I’m bummed to lose it.”
DeVilbiss said he and many other employees only learned of the news through reading the Wall Street Journal. He said no one from the headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., contacted a regional manager about the bankruptcy and subsequent closings before the news broke in the media.
The regional managers did not respond to any calls from The Utah Statesman concerning Borders’ bankruptcy or the reasons why certain stores were selected to be shut down.
Gunnell said Donja Wright, a 10-year employee of Borders and the local manager, found out about the closure through a conference call while vacationing in Hawaii. The call came after the news had broken in other media.
Part of the disappointment for DeVilbiss came with the uncertainty of finding employment elsewhere, particularly in the midst of a semester. He said he isn’t sure where to begin looking.
“I’m really surprised,” he said. “I knew Borders wasn’t doing well in general, but there’s no competition in Logan, so i thought that would get thrown into the decision.”
DeVilbiss said while walking into the store to begin his shift at 4 p.m., he saw an estimated 100 people in the store looking to purchase items which were at a 20 percent discount from the previous value. He noted that there were six cashiers at the registers, which he had never seen before.
The disappointment abounded for the customers as well. Zach Smith, a sophomore student at USU, said he felt attached to the Logan store on several levels.
“It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend,” he said. “I’ve got to figure out what to do with my life now. I’m addicted to here, I came here all the time. People think it’s weird, but I think coming here is the best.”
Smith preferred the store over other places on campus designed to provide solitude and relaxation.
“On campus, I’m more about saying hi to people, especially if they are one of my friends,” he said. “(At USU) you feel not as comfortable sitting there, but rather feeling the need to stand up to talk to people, checking somebody out or talk to people walking by. Anywhere on campus, there’s 20 people walking by every 30 seconds. (At Borders), it’s a little more calm.”
However, that calm eventually led to a lag in being updated in the technology of marketing their products, Gunnell suggested.
“I think we, overall, as a company have moved way too slow to move to the simulated books,” he said. Gunnell remarked that stores like Amazon and e-books’ effectiveness in giving customers the leisure to make purchases online, without having to leave their homes, was a major factor in overriding the luxuries that Borders could offer.
Gunnell was also disappointed to have to say goodbye to a store that has provided him with not only the opportunity to utilize his talents and interests, but to a group of employees that he said he grew close to.
“I’ve enjoyed growing close to the employees and developing friendships with them,” said Gunnell, who added that the employees would associate with each other outside of the workplace. “It wasn’t great pay, but it will be difficult to enjoy a job as much as this one.”
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu