So I’m sure you’ve probably heard the news by now that Borders Books is going out of business after 40 years. If you weren’t aware, you should play catch up by reading up on the news.
It’s a shame to see one of my favorite stores go out of business, but the nature of the book industry is heading towards fake electronics books and away from real tangible books (can you guess my bias… LOL).
Rather than just sit back and watch another business go away, I got to thinking…
“What If Amazon.com bought Borders?”
Let’s face it, the retail footprint of Borders is huge. Their stores hold a lot of product. Instead of watching these stores go empty (and in some communities, stay empty for a long time), what would it look like if Amazon.com creeped out of their comfort zone and opened up physical brick and mortar locations.
Amazon.com is more than just books, music and movies. They sell a large variety of products that in some cases people like to actually touch, inspect and use before they buy. You can sample music, provide excerpts from books, but right now there is no way for users of Amazon.com to get a feel for the larger more unique items Amazon and it’s partners offer. What if I was interested in this leather recliner from New Creations furniture? There is absolutely no way I would know how it feels to sit in. If Amazon purchased and occupied the existing Borders stores, they can create a showroom atmosphere where I can sit in this item.
So what would occupy these new Amazon.com showrooms? I envision one popular item from each category where you wouldn’t be able to experience the item anywhere else. Amazon sells Xbox 360s, but you can go to a Best Buy to determine how those are used. I’m talking about furniture items from exclusive online retailers. Exercise equipment from fitness related partners. Things that are major purchases that could be made easier if the buyer had a chance to experience the item. Amazon could even leave it up to their partners and suppliers as to what gets shown. Let the partner vendors bid for the retail showroom space.
Once a buyer has determined that the item they tried out is the one they want to purchase, a row of secure kiosks in the store will allow the buyers to purchase their selections. As far as staffing goes Amazon/Borders can keep it really simple due to nothing being able to be purchased and taken from the store. All that is needed are one to two employees to assist with online order and perhaps product questions. If they wanted to take it a step further, they can offer online order pickup much like Wal-Mart is offering with their site-to-store program.
I have no basis on whether or not this is a viable idea. It was just something I came up with out in hopes of seeing a company capitalize on empty retail and possibly save my favorite book store, Borders Books.