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Borders Group, Inc.

our history

The history of Borders Group is a tale of two brands—Borders® and Waldenbooks®—and its enterprising founders who instilled passion and innovation into the bookselling business.

Today the company remains rooted in a key component of its past, now shaping its future—its people. Through its 30,000 employees the company continues to provide customers with the books, music, movies, and other entertainment products they love in a relaxing, enjoyable atmosphere, while constantly redefining the consumer experience through new products and services.

1933	Lawrence Hoyt opens a rental library in Bridgeport, CT.
1962	Hoyt opens his first independently owned bookstore in Pittsburgh, PA, and calls it The Walden Book Store in tribute to Henry David Thoreau's literary classic, Walden.
1971	Tom and Louis Borders open an 800-square-foot used bookstore in the academic community of Ann Arbor, MI, and call it Borders Book Shop. Over the coming years Tom and Louis expand their operation, opening new stores in new markets.
1984	Kmart Corporation purchases Waldenbooks, and Waldenbooks purchases Brentano's, a chain of distinguished, tailored book stores.
1992	Kmart acquires Borders and forms the Borders-Walden Group.
1995	The Borders-Walden Group is renamed Borders Group, Inc. and goes public through an initial public offering. Waldenbooks' headquarters moves from Stamford, CT, to Ann Arbor, the home base of Borders.
1996	Borders Group launches the Borders Group Foundation to support its employees and their families through need-based grants, merit scholarships, and key relationships with other caring organizations.
1997	Borders' first store outside of the U.S. opens in Singapore.
2001	Through an alliance with Amazon.com, Borders Group offers online shopping, giving consumers access to a vast selection of books, music, and DVDs, as well as content unique to the website. Borders Group develops and launches the Value of Employment (V.O.E.) strategy to focus the company on activities that matter most to its employees. The strategy concentrates on four areas: Benefits and Services, Pay and Rewards, Employee Development, and Work Environment.
2003	Borders Group and T-Mobile team to make T-Mobile Wi-Fi HotSpot service available in Borders stores in the U.S.
2004	Borders Group and Seattle's Best Coffee LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starbucks Corporation, sign a licensing agreement to open Seattle's Best Coffee cafes in Borders stores in the U.S. beginning in early 2005. Borders Group acquires Paperchase Products Limited, a United Kingdom-based company that offers a unique assortment of stationery, gift packaging, greeting cards, art paper and materials, seasonal items, and other gifts. Borders Group announces plans to open the first-ever Borders store in Malaysia under a planned franchise agreement with Berjaya Group. In specific markets, Borders Group pilots the conversion of some Waldenbooks stores to Borders Express™.
2005	AARP recognizes Borders Group as a member of the AARP National Employer Team in an effort to connect mature workers (50 years and older) with job opportunities. The largest Borders store in the world (60,000 square feet) opens in Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur's Berjaya Times Square shopping mall. A second location in Malaysia is announced.
2006	Agreement is announced with Al Maya Group to open franchise stores in United Arab Emirates. Borders opens first store in Ireland. Borders Group appoints George L. Jones President and CEO.
2007	The company unveiled its strategic plan to revitalize, refocus and ultimately reinvent the company. Borders Group announced the sale of its U.K. and Ireland subsidiaries. The first stand-alone Paperchase shop in the U.S. opens on Boston's Newbury Street. Borders previews its upcoming e-commerce site at beta.BordersStores.com. The site is planned to launch in first quarter 2008. "RIS News" honors Borders for its innovative cross-channel retail strategies with a Fusion Award. For the third time, Borders Group achieves a perfect score on the 2008 Corporate Equality Index published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. Borders Rewards loyalty program surpasses the 20-million-member mark. With a commitment to diversity, Borders Group establishes an external diversity council of leaders from academia, the publishing industry, business and the non-profit sector. Borders.Gather.com is announced as a new social networking site for millions who share an interest in books, music and movies. A Forrester Research study—the "Customer Experience Index, 2007"—ranks Borders #1 nationwide among 112 companies for providing an enjoyable shopping experience. Borders ranked #2 overall in the survey of nearly 5,000 consumers. Slip & Fall debuts as first novel released under Borders' exclusive and proprietary publishing program.
2008	Borders opened its first concept store nationwide in Ann Arbor, Michigan in February, 2008. Please visit the concept store media room to read all about and see photos/video of this breakthrough shopping experience. There you'll find a list of all 14 concept stores the company plans to open throughout the year.