Decline & Fall

24/7 Wall St. has created a new list of brands that will disappear.

Much schadenfreude to be had; this especially warms our evil heart:

With its debt net of cash at $375 million, a competitor like Barnes & Noble could buy $2 billion in annual revenue for a fraction of sales and cut general and administrative costs to improve margins. Borders has been dead for over two years, but no one has been able to dispose of the body.

And most recently:

Borders Group (NYSE: BGP), which was also on the December list, is still in business – barely. The company has closed most of its Waldenbooks stores, gone through serial layoffs and has now had two consecutive majority shareholders. It recently fired a number of the people in its UK operation. Borders is burdened with $300 million in debt, and its stock recently traded as low as $.35. The company is outmatched by larger and more successful competitors, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

"Revenge is indeed best when served cold," we laugh.