Iconic Brands That No Longer Exist

Posted by Josh

Borders

Once a bookstore giant found across America, the original family-run business from Ann-Arbor, Michigan was opened in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders. It took only a year for 21 franchises to open, and in 1992 they sold their company for $125 million to Kmart.

Borders

Kmart continued to build and expand the brand all throughout the 90s, even combining it with one of their own brands, WaldenBooks.

Alas, the rise of Amazon and e-readers meant that bookstores everywhere started feeling the pinch, and Borders wasn’t immune either. By 2011, the original Ann Arbor branch of Borders had closed, and the company was bankrupt.