Waldenbooks could exit San Antonio market

Ann Arbor, Mich. The Borders Group is eyeing the possible closure of all three Waldenbooks stores in San Antonio in January, according to a report in the San Antonio Business Journal.

The possible shuttering is part of a national plan to make the chain more profitable in 2010.

The company is considering closing Waldenbooks locations at Ingram Park Mall, Rolling Oaks Mall and South Park Mall in San Antonio.

In all, Borders will close about 200 Waldenbooks mall-based locations and lay off 1,500 nationwide. This will leave some 130 Waldenbooks stores open.

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group owns the Waldenbooks and Borders bookstore chains and manages the e-commerce site borders.com.

“America has a number of malls that continue to do well and draw customer traffic even in the current economy,” said Borders Group CEO Ron Marshall. “We believe there remains an opportunity to profitably operate a much smaller Waldenbooks segment that complements our core Borders superstore business and continues to serve readers in their communities.”

The affected stores are expected to close by the end of January 2010. However, the final list of stores slated for closure could change between now and then, company officials say.