End of a chapter as Borders closes

December 2009

Book-lovers in Islington have been flocking to snap up Christmas bargains after the Borders bookshop chain has started a closing-down sale in all of its 45 stores.



The N1 centre store in Islington is one of the biggest, with its coffee shop and huge range of magazines and books. There is nothing like this in Angel and the spacious two-storey store has been a popular base for passionate readers, writers and journalists for almost a decade.
Staff here and elsewhere have been warned they face losing redundancy pay if they talk to the press, while administrators for the 45 UK Border stores which have gone into receivership are working non-stop.
With only five days to go, the shop is full of banners offering discounts up to 90 per cent and queues are huge in every section of the store. It is not just books, but also CDs, DVDs and any sort of gadget and stationery.
Ali Karaaslam, a student from Islington, said: “I am really sorry and disappointed about the closure of Borders branches.
“I have been a regular customer for eight years. I buy all sorts of DVDs and CDs and story books for my children in Borders.”
Kira-Anne Macanzie, a shop assistant from Angel, said: “It is really depressing that people are not buying books as much as before. I guess most of them are choosing the internet as their source of infotainment, forgetting about bookshops and libraries.
“Borders is my favourite bookshop and I also reckon the Angel branch is very much part of Islington; there are no other bookshops like this in the area.”
Even some tourists are regular customers at Borders, including Pyppos Helen, an accountant from Greece, who said: “This is my second holiday in London and the second time I come to Borders in Angel; even my family and friends like the Angel branch.
“Last time I bought several travel and psychological books that I cannot find easily in my country.
“Today I found out the company is closing down and I am surprised. Even though high discounts are beneficial to customers, it’s a bad sign for the market in the long term.”
Borders is only the latest of a series of local bookshops to shut. The Bookhouse in Upper Street recently closed and have been replaced by an optician’s, while another store called Angel Bookshop, left its premises to a travel agency and started an online business.