Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: bankruptcy, bookstores, Comics, graphic novels

Borders Delay Payments To Publishers – Is Bankruptcy Imminent?

Published Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:00:39 -0600

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas.

Borders, the national bookstore chain in the USA, have announced that they will be delaying payments to publishers.

Borders has been trying to find new financing to avoid breaking the terms of its credit agreements, but that seems to have stalled. Shares have fallen by over 10% as a result.

The BBC report company spokeswoman Mary Davis as saying that the firm would work with the publishers that supply it with books in order to restructure their payment arrangements.

As it stands, publishers provide Borders with books months before they would accept payment, and are also liable for books to be returned well after that date.

But without access to funds, those payments to publishers look to be delayed even further. Borders may be selling assets and closing stores to improve their financial position.

If Borders does go down, owning huge amounts of money to publishers, as well as holding so much stock, it could cause real problems for a number of comic book publishers. The graphic novel/trade paperback has grown exponentially over the last decade into bookstores and Borders has been instrumental in that.

As a result, certain publishers will not survive a Borders-sized financial blow. It could be a very bleak 2011 indeed…