Borders Group, the 40-year-old retailer that started as a used bookstore in Ann Arbor, decided Monday to liquidate its remaining 399 stores, conceding a battle with competitors, technology and itself. Started in 1971 by brothers Louis and Tom Borders as an 800-square-foot bookstore, its impending passing adds to a long list of Michigan-based retailers that lost their edge with consumers. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 16. "The news seemed like a formality after the bid for Borders fell apart last week," said Laura Bartell, a bankruptcy law professor at Wayne State University. \"The physical bookstore has become a thing of the past,\" she said.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110719/BUSINESS06/107190400/Borders-shut-down-good-after-deal-collapses
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110718/NEWS03/307180005/1004/NEWS03