A BOOKSTORE chain has announced that its November 30 closure wave has expanded into a second state.
The chain Half Price Books was originally only closing down stores in Texas, but will now close in California, too.
Half Price Books will now close stores in California as well as in Texas[/caption]
This comes as industry leaders Barnes & Noble continue to thrive with a plan to open 60 new locations this year.
Half Price Books has announced a range of closures across the two states, including in downtown Berkeley, California.
The store has been running for 20 years, but will close down on November 30.
In an email to the outlet Berkeleyside, Emily Bruce, Half Price Books’ public relations manager, said that the company had wanted to stay in the location.
She said: “We have many great customers in that area for whom the Berkeley location is their closest store.
“We wish we could stay but we have been unable to come to a lease agreement with our landlord.”
Kevin Gordon, who runs Gordon Commercial Brokerage, the landlord of the Berkeley store, said that he was “sorry to see them [Half Price Books] leave this location”.
It is not known how much Half Price Books paid in rent to the firm.
‘NOT MUCH INFORMATION’
Half Price Books employs 13 people at the Berkeley store, who are being advised to apply to other Half Price Books roles in other locations.
If this is not possible, they will receive a severance package.
On a phone call made by the outlet, a manager revealed that employees did not “have much information” regarding the closure.
They did not comment any further.
PREVIOUS CLOSURES
While the Bay Area will still have three Half Price Books stores remaining in Concord, Dublin and Fremont, Texas has seen several notable closures.
In 2024, Half Price Books closed its San Antonio store, as well as two in the northern area of the state.
US braces for ‘45,000 store closures’
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
This year, the chain closed a store in North Austin after 18 years, reportedly due to similar issues with the lease contract.
Half Price Books has offered many reasons for its current position, including a fall-off in customer traffic.
‘ATTACK ON OUR FREEDOMS’
Notably, Half Price Books has also been caught up in a legal battle in Texas.
The chain argued against a proposed bill in the state that would hold bookstores liable for the “distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.”
Half Price Books President Kathy Doyle Thomas dubbed the bill a “critical attack on our freedoms”.
The chain has fought this proposal, and last month hosted a panel about censorship during Banned Book Week at its flagship store in Dallas.
Despite the Texas and California closures, Half Price Books runs more than 120 locations in 19 states.
Half Price Books has announced a range of closures across the two states, including in downtown Berkeley, California[/caption]
