Content Matters has taken the time to give a more honest interpretation of Mike Edwards’ email, and it does a great job of hitting the high (er…low) points in Borders’ history. My favorite bits:
So around 3 years ago, Amazon came out with this Kindle e-reader. As my mama said – who the heck wants to read a book on a computer? So we did the smart thing and ignored it. Our friends at Barnes & Noble came out with their own version, called the Nook. And we ignored that one too. Then last year, our private equity investors told us that without an e-book strategy, they weren’t going to keep funding us. So, we partnered with a company to launch the Kobo. What, you haven’t heard of it? Really? We’ve sold upwards of several dozen of them so far.
Wayne Gretsky famously said “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. Well, how the heck are we supposed to figure out where things are going. So, instead, we try to focus on where the puck has been. We see what companies like Barnes & Noble did a year or two ago, then set our compass to follow. But it’s not just Barnes & Noble. We follow leaders in other industries, like Blockbuster Video as well.
The whole post is worth a read, it’s quite hysterical, and sadly true. Also, on the subject of Borders, rumors are that liquidators will be hitting the closing stores starting Friday, Feb 18th, so it might be worth cruising by any stores you know are closing and checking out the deals!
Via iworkatborders livejournal