UK chapter for US book giant

A US music and book retailer is to open three superstores in the UK, designed by London consultancy Allen Gale Partnership.

The chain Borders bought Books Etc last October and plans to develop the Borders name alongside the Books Etc marque.

The first store will open in London’s Oxford Street in August, followed by a second in Leeds in November. The Charing Cross Road branch of Books Etc will be expanded to house Borders’ headquarters. It will open in early 1999.

Allen Gale Partnership will apply the existing Borders identity. But consultancy senior partner Howard Allen is “looking for finishes which are more in line with the sophisticated tastes of the British”, he says.