Borders(R) and Sony(R) Team Up to Promote e-books

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A F BORDERS GROUP LOGO BORDERS GROUP LOGO Borders Group Logo. (PRNewsFoto/ Borders Group, Inc.)[BP] ANN ARBOR, MI UNITED STATES 02/18/2008

    ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Borders today
 announced it has signed an agreement with Sony that expands their existing
 relationship for the sale of the Reader Digital Book, and includes a new,
 co-branded version of Sony's online store for e-book downloads expected to
 be launched in October.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSGRPLOGO )
     Under the agreement, Borders will expand the sale of the Reader -- the
 revolutionary reading device for e-books -- to over 500 of its stores
 nationwide beginning in October. Currently, the Reader is sold in
 approximately 270 Borders stores, which began selling the device in 2006
 when Borders was the first retailer to make it available outside of Sony
 itself (through its Sony Style stores and the company's e-commerce site).
     In addition, as an outgrowth of its commitment to selling the Reader
 nationwide, Borders will launch a co-branded online store with support from
 Sony that will offer digital downloads of e-books. The online store will
 offer customers a vast selection of titles, including more than 20,000
 books written by such bestselling authors as Dean Koontz, Khaled Hosseini
 and Michael Connelly, representing the leading names in publishing today.
 Eventually, the co-branded e-book store will be offered as part of Borders'
 upcoming e-commerce site, Borders.com.
     Borders plans to market the Reader and the co-branded online store to
 its millions of customers using the company's comprehensive strategic
 marketing resources, including significant in-store exposure, as well as
 inclusion in the weekly Borders "Shortlist" customer e-mail, to promote
 e-books to an audience of heavy readers and book buyers who are loyal to
 the Borders brand.
     The agreement will also enable Borders and Sony to help provide greater
 selection and value to customers. Through collaboration with publishers,
 the companies plan to broaden the number of e-books offered including more
 backlist titles by popular authors, expansion of the e-book format among
 small and mid-sized publishers, and by working toward the development of
 enhanced content that will provide added incentive to purchase books in
 traditional and digital formats.
     "Embracing technology as a path to differentiate Borders is a key part
 of our company's strategic plan," said Borders Group Chief Executive
 Officer George Jones. "Sony's long history of innovation and pioneering
 efforts in establishing the e-book category with the Reader makes them a
 great partner. We firmly support the e-book as a format we believe will be
 of growing importance to our customers in the future, and this agreement is
 a big part of our plans to make Borders a true cross-channel retailer,
 fulfilling our mission as a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment."
     "Borders is a world-class brand with incredible reach and influence,
 and their commitment to e-books is a clear sign the category is moving
 beyond the early adopter phase into the mainstream," said Stan Glasgow,
 president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics Inc. "We look
 forward to working
     with Borders and the publishing community to broaden the audience by
 delivering a greater selection of digital content to people who love to
 read."
     About the Reader
     The Reader couples an innovative electronic paper display with simple
 on-screen controls and stylish design. Readers can carry with them about 80
 typical e-books on the device (based on an average file size of 1.2MB),
 which has a battery life equivalent to about 7,500 continuous page turns
 (battery life will vary with usage). The Reader's high resolution
 electronic paper display delivers a realistic print look that rivals
 traditional paper and results in crisp text and graphics that are easy on
 the eyes even in bright sunlight.
     About Borders Group
     Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:   BGP) is a
 leading global retailer of books, music and movies with more than 1,200
 stores worldwide, primarily operating under the Borders and Waldenbooks
 brand names. More information on the company is available at
 www.bordersgroupinc.com.
     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 "plans,"
 "will," 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 performance, and its strategic plans, including benefits as a
 result of its relationship with Sony.
     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 to fund the company's
 operations and to carry out its strategic plans; the performance of the
 company's information technology systems and the development of
 improvements to the systems necessary to implement the company's strategic
 plan, and, with respect to the exploration of strategic alternatives for
 certain international operations, the ability to attract interested third
 parties.
     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