Borders Group CEO Ron Marshall Resigns
Mr. Marshall, 55 years old, took over as CEO at Borders on Jan. 5, 2009. A turnaround specialist with a strong financial background, Mr. Marshall is credited with reducing debt at Borders, cutting expenses and gaining the confidence of the publishing community in the Struggling retail chain. However, Borders had a very weak Christmas period and must now prove that it can boost revenue.
A & P declined to comment. Mr. Marshall could not be reached for comment.
"Mr. Marshall leaves at a time when many retailers are having difficulty pulling customers into their stores. The book business is rife with sharp discounting online for hardcover books, and the fast-growing demand for $ 9.99 electronic book best-sellers is luring away consumers who only a few years ago made their book purchases at bookstores.
Under Mr. Marshall and Mark Bierley, the retailer's chief financial officer, Borders has sharply reduced its corporate overhead and also expanded into the e-book retail business by taking a stake in Kobo Inc., an e-book retailer that Canadian retailer Indigo Books & Music Inc. spun off as a standalone entity late last year. Borders is expected Thurs integrate Kobo's e-book store into Borders.com this year.
But the chain, Which competes head-to-head with Amazon.com Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc., and major discounters that sell a limited selection of books at cheap prices, has so far failed to prove that it can generate sales gains . Revenue at Borders' super-stores for the 11-week holiday period ended Jan. 16 dropped 15% to $ 649.2 million while same-store sales, a key economic indicator, also fell by 15%. Borders is expected to report results for its fiscal fourth quarter, Which Ends Jan. 30, in late March.Read More.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704905604575026911812309410.html?mod=WSJ_Small%20Business_IndustryNews
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