Book World Closes All Stores

Book World Inc. (Appleton, Wisc.) announced that it will be closing all 45 of its stores, which are located throughout the Midwest.

The retailer has already begun liquidation sales at all locations. The sales will continue until all inventory is sold. The retailer expects that all locations will be closed by Jan. 15.

According to Publisher’s Weekly, the decision to liquidate and close stores was sudden and is being attributed to the shift in e-commerce shopping and away from actual stores. That shift has reportedly affected sales to the point that the business is no longer sustainable even though many of the chain’s more urban stores are “still healthy.”

As a result of the closures, about 300 store employees will lose their jobs as well as about a dozen corporate employees.