What: A reflection on what became of the 500+ former Borders stores in the US.

Why it is important: Their different fate show that modern retail has evolved into something more heterogeneous: from medical facilities to studios, supermarkets or fashion stores, there is no more a single way (or a winning one) to do retail, but a multiplicity of formats, that department stores are also experiencing on their own (see the efforts led by John Lewis to repurpose its stores).

Borders used to be a bookstore chain, bigger than Barnes& Noble, that closed all of its approximately 500 locations following its bankruptcy in 2011.

Interestingly, Borders was probably ahead of its time by then, as it viewed its stores as “third spaces” with cafés, free wifi, lounges, a unique architectural approach making each of its stores a destination per se, and a curation adapted to the community where it was located. In terms of offer, it combined the discounting approach of Walmart with the browsing ability of the local library.

Experts consider that the chain failed due to a number of reasons: it sticked to CDs and DVDs although this was a diminishing market, it outsourced its e-commerce operations to Amazon and the stores were too big and facing harsh competition from Barnes & Noble.

The article focuses on what’s left of the real estate footprint of the company: 20% were transformed into local supermarket,  16% were purchased by category killers, 12% are vacant, 10% became clothing or fashion stores, 10% were divided into smaller spaces. To the surprise of the journalist, more than 20% were transformed into different spaces: studios, gyms, medical facilities, coworking spaces.

What’s in for former stores after their retail life?