Dwindling sales will lead Borders to close its Mill Avenue location on Jan. 31, but city officials and local business owners hope the corporate retailer’s closure will lure other businesses to the area.
The city of Tempe’s marketing director Kris Baxter said the closing is “an opportunity to bring in more business and different businesses.”
No plans have been finalized about what businesses or types of businesses will take the bookstore’s place, she said.
Pedro Esparza, a service manager at the closing branch, said the store was closing because of poor sales in its fourth quarter.
City officials said the failure of a retail giant such as Borders is an indicator of a national trend, and they stressed that this situation is not unique to the Mill Avenue District.
The national economic downturn has resulted in businesses both big and small closing all over the United States, said Casaundra Brown, director of marketing and communications for Downtown Tempe Community, the name for the collective of shops and restaurants on and around Mill Avenue.
“It’s a Borders thing, not a result of something that’s going on in downtown Tempe,” she said. “We’re seeing the same thing that many other communities are seeing.”
Borders Corporate Affairs Manager Mary Davis said the Mill Avenue location is one of five superstores being closed around the country in the past several months. Other locations include Gaithersburg, Md., Sacramento and Santa Monica, Calif., and Cincinnati.
“We feel sad anytime we close a store, [but] we do take a look at our stores routinely to make sure they are meeting our sales expectations and are profitable,” Davis said.
She also said Borders will make a strong effort to place employees in other area stores once the Mill Avenue location closes.
Brian Faber, general manager of Zia Records on University Drive, a location near the soon-to-be-vacant retail space, expressed his own disappointment.
“I don’t like the thought of any business having to close their doors,” he said. “As someone who runs a local business, I think it’s important to see successful businesses in our area.”
Faber added Zia also has felt the impact of an economic recession.
“We seem to be faring as similarly as everyone else,” he said. “These are tough times for people. We’re watching every penny and trying to protect every job.”
Reach the reporter at benjamin.weitzenkorn@asu.edu.
