UPDATED: Borders Book Store to Close

The book store located on Route 114 will be one of nearly 200 to close in the next two- to three months after the parent company, Borders Group Inc., filed for bankruptcy today.

An employee at the Peabody book store who did not wish to be identified said she and her fellow 33 part-time and full-time employees were told today the store will close in the next 60- to 90 days.  The store could close as soon as April. The move to file for bankruptcy protection by Border's was expected for months in the face of sagging sales and the company's inability to compete in the e-book market.

According to information released by the company, Massachusetts stores in Boston, Burlington, Holyoke, Hyannis and Wareham will also be closed. The Border's store in Dedham will remain open.

An Associated Press story published by the Huffington Post on Friday speculated that Borders has struggled with losses for years in the face of a changing book industry. The company reported sales at its namesake superstores open at least a year were down 14.6 percent for the crucial holiday period this year.

The AP story reported that Borders also struggled to compete in the e-book market and its Kobo product that it rolled out last year did not change it fortunes. Borders' chief rival, Barnes & Noble, introduced the Nook reader in 2009 as Amazon.com's Kindle reader continues to dominate the e-reader market.