Borders Books & Music to Open Two New Stores in Texas; Borders Opening Stores in Dallas and Houston in 2004

Business Wire, Dec 15, 2003

Business Editors

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 2003

Borders Books & Music(R) will open two new stores in Texas by July 2004. A 26,000-square-foot store will open in Houston in June, and a 22,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in Dallas next July. The new Borders stores will give area residents a comfortable place to explore a vast selection of book, music, DVD and newsstand titles, and will include a cafe that offers a variety of gourmet coffees, teas, beverages, desserts and light food items. Borders currently operates 18 stores in the state of Texas; the new Dallas and Houston stores will bring the total to 20.

The new store in Dallas will be Borders' 10th in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market and will be located on the northeast corner of McKinney Avenue and Lemmon Avenue, across the street from the West Village shopping center in Uptown. Located less than two miles north of downtown Dallas and situated along the historic McKinney Avenue trolley line, the West Village has become one of north Texas's trendiest retail and dining destinations.

Borders' new store in Houston will be its 5th in the market. It will be located on the southeast corner of Lake Woodlands Drive and Six Pines Drive in The Woodlands Market Street urban development. The Woodlands combines shopping, dining, entertainment, office space and community events in a pedestrian-friendly environment.

"Texas has been an important market for Borders, and we know our two new stores will create an exciting destination environment for area residents," said Stu Morgan, regional director for the new Borders locations. "The West Village in Dallas is an urban shopping and residential development that attracts people from all over the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, and The Woodlands in Houston is one of the highest rated planned communities in the country. We're thrilled to be part of both of them."

The new Dallas and Houston stores will each offer corporate discounts to schools, libraries and businesses in the area. Free events like lectures, author signings, musical performances, children's activities and 'Benefit Days' that support local charities will be held throughout the year. Both locations were selected based on a variety of factors including demographics, the strength of the cotenants, traffic patterns, the availability of parking and the attractiveness of the site.

Borders is an industry leader in selection, customer service and convenience. Borders stores offer up to 200,000 book, music, DVD and periodical titles, as well as cutting-edge service technology through Title Sleuth(TM) self-service computer stations located throughout the store. Title Sleuth allows Borders customers to easily determine if a particular book, CD or movie is in stock at the store they are visiting or at a nearby Borders location and offers access to more than 15 million used, out-of-print and hard-to-find titles worldwide. For Borders.com and Amazon.com shoppers, "In-Store Express Pick Up" service combines the ease of ordering online with the convenience of paying for their purchase and picking it up the same day.

Exploring contemporary books and CDs by innovative authors and artists is easy with Borders' "Original Voices" program -- featuring the works of more than 200 contemporary authors and illustrators from around the world in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, young adult and children's picture books throughout the year. For those unsure of what they're looking for, "Borders Recommends" titles and reviews are displayed throughout the store, and knowledgeable booksellers are happy to suggest titles well suited to each customer. In the multimedia section, digital listening stations let customers scan and preview nearly every CD in store and view trailers of DVDs. In addition, Borders' experienced buying staff recommends music and movie titles everyone should have in their personal libraries through in-store "Borders Essentials" lists.

About Borders Group

Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company employs 32,000 people worldwide and operates over 430 Borders domestic superstores; 37 international Borders stores, located primarily in the U.K. and the Pacific Rim; 36 Books etc. stores throughout Great Britain; and approximately 750 Waldenbooks stores in malls across America. Teamed with Amazon.com, the company also offers online shopping through Borders.com (www.borders.com) and Waldenbooks.com (www.waldenbooks.com). More detailed information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com. Information regarding Borders store locations, in-store events and title reservation is available through www.bordersstores.com.