Borders promotion cuts DVD, CD prices this week
Movies, music 30% off through Jan. 4
By Danny King -- Video Business, 12/30/2008
DEC. 30 | Borders is discounting all DVDs, Blu-ray discs and CDs through the end of this week in an effort to unload holiday inventory at its flagship stores.
The No. 2 U.S. book retailer behind Barnes & Noble, Borders is marking down its DVDs and CDs by 30% through Jan. 4 and is not imposing purchase limits, the company said in an e-mailed promotion to customers earlier this week. The offer isn't available at Borders' Waldenbooks and Borders Express chains.
Borders has been trying to cut its losses caused by falling same-store sales figures by shrinking the amount of space it dedicates to CDs while reducing overall inventory levels.
The company, which said last month that its fiscal third-quarter loss widened 8.9% from a year earlier, cut its debt by 34% by reducing inventory, while decreasing its CD floor space to 7% of stores, from about 11% a year earlier.
In March, Borders hired J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch to assess strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. Borders said last month that it's no longer considering selling the company, though it might still sell its Paperchase Products stationary unit to Pershing Square Capital Management for $65 million.
