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More than 1,100 people have joined a "Save Borders" Facebook group as the chain's administrator continues to look for buyers for the bookshops. Stores have also been soliciting for signatures, with the Evening News reporting that nearly 1,300 signatures were collected over the weekend.
Yesterday (30th November), The Bookseller reported that the administrators of Borders made 36 staff at the store support office on Charing Cross Road redundant, but added that "considerable interest has been expressed either in the business and/or certain stores and this interest". MCR said this interest was being "actively being pursued". The administrator added: "I can confirm that no redundancies have been made in-store."
The book buying team is now understood to be running with a skeleton staff with lifestyle and bargain buyer Radcliffe Harris, senior buyer for non-fiction John Packard and genre buyer Emma Carter understood to be staying at Charing Cross Road.
Hachette UK's deputy chief executive Peter Roche told The Bookseller yesterday that he was still awaiting a response from Borders UK administrators MCR to questions put by him on behalf of the publishing-wide committee established by the Publishers Association to try to find a way for publishers to continue trading with the bookseller.
A number of questions sent by The Bookseller to the administrator have also so far been left unanswered.
Figures released by the administrator showed Borders had sales of £93m in the nine months to 31st October, including £9m from Books Etc and £1.25m from online. It employed 1,100 staff, 75 of which were based in its head office. It also employed 30 consultants.
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=198740952304&ref=search&... target="_blank" title="The">http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=198740952304&ref=search&... Facebook Group, Save Borders, can be found here.