ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In response to an article that originally appeared Jan. 15 on debtwire.com, Borders Group today released the following:
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSGRPLOGO)
"The debtwire.com article includes inaccurate information. Specifically, it claimed Borders has extended the length of time it takes to pay its small publisher vendors by 40%. This is inaccurate. In fact, Borders has continued to pay its vendors in a timely manner, has not lengthened its days to pay, and has not been contacted by a group of publishers as alleged. Product is flowing to our stores for sale to customers. In fact, we have significantly increased book inventory in the fourth quarter compared to last year, a sign that we have continued to receive support from the vendor community. It is also important to note that we have not been contacted by any law firms allegedly retained to represent a small group of publishers. Today it was reported that the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler issued the following regarding the debtwire.com article: 'The statement in the article that a group of smaller publishers had hired the bankruptcy group of Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel is incorrect.'
"Overall, Borders Group continues to focus on running our business, including recently announced digital book partnerships with Kobo and Spring Design that position the company to be a high quality content provider of eBooks. We also continue to focus on reducing expenses and improving working capital to drive improved cash flow and debt reduction as we address the clear priority to drive profitable sales."
About Borders Group
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "planning," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are likely to address matters such as the company's future financial condition and performance (including earnings per share, the profitability of Waldenbooks, liquidity, cash flows, debt levels, sales, inventory levels and capital expenditures), its cost reduction initiatives and plans for store closings and the expansion of product categories. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, consumer demand for the company's products, particularly during the holiday season, which is believed to be related to general economic and geopolitical conditions, competition and other factors; the availability of adequate capital--including vendor credit--to fund the company's operations and to carry out its strategic plans; adverse litigation results or other claims and the performance of the company's information technology systems.
The company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain more detailed discussions of these and other risk factors that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, and those discussions are incorporated herein by reference. The company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Borders Group
CONTACT: Media: Anne Roman, +1-734-477-1392; Investors: Mark Bierley,
+1-734-477-4105
Web Site: http://www.borders.com/
