Maine’s first Books-A-Million stores will open by mid-November in former Borders locations in Bangor and South Portland.
A bankruptcy judge in August approved Alabama-based Books-A-Million’s bid to take over the leases of 14 Borders locations by Sept. 20 following Borders’ liquidation. The company will also open a smaller store at a Borders-operated Waldenbooks location in Auburn, according to the Bangor Daily News. Books-A-Million has been renovating the interiors of the stores, which will include a Joe Muggs coffee shop. The stores will carry books, including those by local and regional authors, DVDs, audio equipment and books, and the Nook e-readers and products. The stores will employ about the same number of people the Borders locations employed, which the state estimated at 137. A Borders store in Brunswick is not part of Books-A-Million’s expansion. Prior to the Borders deal, the company had 231 stores in 23 states and Washington, D.C.
Books-A-Million has reported an 11.4% drop in its revenue, from $120 million to $106 million, over the last year. Spokesman Bill Todd told the paper the company is optimistic about its new Maine stores given their strong performance in their markets.