Clusters of TV and computer screens beam chatty videos about cooking, travel and wellness books. A music kiosk lets visitors download MP3s or burn CDs, while another offers tips on how to publish your own novel.
Welcome to the newly opened Borders bookstore in Southbury, Conn., which looks less like a traditional branch of the nation’s second-largest book chain and more like what customers might see on their home computers.
“We wanted to go beyond selling books, CDs and DVDs and become a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment,” said Borders Group Inc. Chief Executive George Jones of the recently opened “concept stores,” including one in National City, near San Diego. “We needed to do something new in our stores to compete with all the alternatives people have at home when they shop online.”
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