Borders Books & Music to Open Store in Stafford, Va

Business Wire, August 31, 2004

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Borders Books & Music(R) will open an 18,000-square-foot store on the northwest corner of I-95 and Route 610 at the Stafford Marketplace shopping center in Stafford, Va., this November. The new Borders will offer area residents a comfortable place to explore a vast selection of book, music, DVD and newsstand titles. The store will include a Cafe Borders that offers a variety of gourmet coffees, teas, beverages, desserts and light food items.

The new location will be Borders' 12th in the state of Virginia, including nearby stores in Fredericksburg and Woodbridge. The new site was selected based on a variety of factors including demographics, the strength of the cotenants, traffic patterns, the availability of parking and the overall attractiveness of the site.

"The Borders at Stafford Marketplace will give our many friends who regularly navigate the I-95 corridor a good reason to stop off the interstate to relax with a book and some coffee," said Rick Morley, district manager for the new Borders location. "We're very excited to become part of the Stafford community."

The store 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 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 (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 450 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 700 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.