Borders Offers Best eReader Values on Market — Company Bundles $20 Gift Card with Purchase of Kobo eReader

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced that the Kobo eReader will now be bundled with a $20 Borders gift card, and double Borders Bucks that can be used towards a future Borders purchase. At $149.99 the Kobo is among the lowest priced eReaders available, and bundled with the gift card, delivers the best eBooks value available today.

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Borders also announced the availability of the Apple app for the iPhone and iPad mobile devices, and to celebrate, Borders is offering customers a free coffee in its Seattle's Best Coffee cafes when they show the Borders eBooks application on their iPhone or iPad. The gift card and free coffee offers are good for a limited time.

The Apple app offers the ability to browse and buy over a million eBook titles. Readers can also search by title, author, topic or keyword and enjoy automatic bookmarking, print quality resolution, smooth transitions between pages and chapters, and customized fonts and type sizes. The Apple app is available for free http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_ereaderapps.

These moves support the company's digital strategy, part of its commitment to transform the Borders brand. Borders' eReader devices were announced earlier this month as a key component of the company's overall digital strategy, which includes a device neutral philosophy and commitment to offer up to 10 devices by the end of 2010.

According to consumer research conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, high prices continue to be a barrier to eReader adoption, despite significant interest in purchasing over the next few years. The same research has identified the consumer sweet spot for eReader cost between $100 and $150. The Kobo eReader ($149), which also comes with 100 free titles, and the Libre eBook Reader Pro ($119) both fall within this sweet spot, positioning Borders for strong consumer adoption and market penetration.

"With two of the most aggressively priced eReaders on the market, we've already made clear our commitment to make it easy for every consumer to begin enjoying digital books today. Now we are giving customers $20 and double the Borders Bucks to spend in-store or online — it's an exceptional value for the serious reader," said Mike Edwards, CEO of Borders.

So far Borders' approach to offering customers choice from among multiple affordable eReaders has proven successful. The initial pre-orders for the Kobo eReader sold out and additional devices are shipping now. The devices will be sold at Borders retail stores beginning in early September in special digital sections called Area-e.

"We've carefully crafted a digital strategy — one that combines a rich array of eBook content delivered to our customers how and when they want it," said Edwards. "This strategy includes our newly released Apple app, eReaders that fit virtually every budget and a positive in-store eReader experience guided by our knowledgeable staff."

About Borders Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., through its subsidiaries, Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "expect," "planning," "possibility," "opportunity," "goal," "will," "may," "intend," "anticipates," "working toward" and other words of similar meaning. One can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements are likely to address matters such as the company's future financial condition and performance (including earnings per share, profitability, liquidity, cash flows, debt levels, market share growth and other sales information, inventory levels and capital expenditures), its cost reduction initiatives and plans for store closings and the expansion of product categories, including eBook content and eReaders. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the company's forward-looking statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, consumer demand for the company's products, particularly during the holiday season, which is believed to be related to general economic and geopolitical conditions, competition and other factors; the availability of adequate capital--including vendor credit--to fund the company's operations and to carry out its strategic plans; adverse litigation results or other claims, the performance of the company's information technology systems and, with respect to eBook content and eReaders, the availability to the company of anticipated content levels and a variety of competitive devices.

The company's periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain more detailed discussions of these and other risk factors that could cause actual results and plans to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements, and those discussions are incorporated herein by reference. The company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Borders Group