Borders Books & Music to Open Two New Stores in Florida

Business Wire, July 1, 2003

Business Editors

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 2003

Borders Books & Music(R) (NYSE:BGP) will open two new superstores in Florida this fall. A 22,000-square-foot store in Clearwater is scheduled to open in September, and a 21,000-square-foot store is set to open in Brandon in November. Both stores will include Cafe Borders that offer a variety of gourmet coffees, teas, beverages, desserts and light food items. Borders currently operates 24 stores in the state of Florida; the two new stores will bring the total to 26.

The Borders in Clearwater will be located in Clearwater Mall at U.S. Highway 19 and U.S. Highway 60. The Brandon store is freestanding and will be located at the intersection of Lumsden Road and Providence Road just off of I-75 in the Brandon Crossroads shopping center. Both stores will offer area residents a comfortable place to explore a vast selection of book, music, DVD and periodical titles.

The two 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 currently has three other stores in the Tampa market, including two in Tampa and one in St. Petersburg.

"There is tremendous growth and retail synergy in and around Tampa and St. Petersburg," said Jenny Lovin, regional director for the new Borders locations. "Borders will compliment this area with stores that create a warm destination environment. We look forward to opening in Clearwater and Brandon."

The stores will 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.

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' "We Recommend" 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, Borders B-Listening(TM) lets customers 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 (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 410 Borders domestic superstores; 34 international Borders stores located primarily in the U.K. and the Pacific Rim; 37 Books etc. stores throughout Great Britain; and approximately 770 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 on Borders stores title selection, events and locations is available through www.bordersstores.com.