Just before Christmas, on 21st December, Christian charity
IBS-STL confirmed the sale of the Wesley Owen trading name and
website and eight of its bookstores to Australian firm Koorong.
Koorong also acquired another division from IBS-STL: Authentic
Book Publishing. Six other Wesley Owen stores were bought by CLC
International; another 26 stores remain. The charity itself was
put into administration.
In the first week of the new year, the online business of
bankrupt bookseller Borders was sold-but its website will not be
revived. Borders fell into administration on 26th November and
ceased operations on 29th December after administrator MCR failed
to sell the business as a going concern. Borders’ customer
database, along with the brand and website of sister brand Books
etc, was sold to the Capital Organisation; the business will be
split between its Capital Ideas Retail Online (CIRO) and Capital
Data divisions. CIRO will add Books etc to its stable of
websites, which include CD/DVD etailer Goodmusic.co.uk and
second-hand books and laptops website SellStudentStuff.com.
Another casualty of 2009 was Frock, a fashion boutique founded in
2007. As of mid-January it was running a closing-down sale on its
website. In a message on the site, founder Rachel Perrett told
customers that “being a new business has meant that we have
struggled through the credit crunch and are having to close the
doors on Frock for now”. In 2008, Perrett was named as one
of the top 10 entrepreneurs in the fashion and retail category of
the Courvoisier the Future 500.
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