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Non-Tech : Borders Group (BGP) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Big Dog who wrote (185)	2/15/1999 11:26:00 PM
From: Jacques Tootight	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 411

Darrell, Thanks for your post. Your three points are all very true, I've no argument there. However, you didn't speak to my specific question/comment. Your last sentence: Thus, the constant comparisons. My comment: ...hung up on Amazon's profitability The operative word there being profitability. Look, I don't have a problem with discussions about Amazon's business model, its effectiveness, future potential, or B&N's, or anyone else's. I agree, it's keenly important to know your competitors business as well as your own. We're in the same choir here. My only, very specific point, was that many Border's supporters when discussing Amazon only speak to their profitability or absurd valuation. It's my opinion that those two subjects are irrelevant to Borders. They can be discussed for whatever merit they have on their own, but they don't impact Borders. Sure, it makes us feel better to bash Amazon because they lose money, and we're jealous of the stock price, but that doesn't help me analyze Borders as an investment. The only thing that concerns me about Amazon is whether or not their growth is coming at my company's expense. If it is, I want to know my company's plans to combat that situation. I could give a hoot less whether they make any money on those sales or not. Amazon's stock price or lack of profitability don't effect Borders ability to perform. In a previous post you commented that Amazon just can't keep losing money forever. Well sure, not forever, but I don't doubt they couldn't last a long time. I worked for a company once that lost money for ten years before they gave it up, and they didn't turn near the cash that Amazon does. You can make up for a lot of sins with cash flow. We can't count on Amazon simply spending themselves out of business, and in the meantime they could have a serious effect on Borders market share. So while, their stock may be absurdly valued by some new esoteric measurement of real and potential sales growth, it's exactly that same sales growth that Borders stockholders have to be concerned about, not whether or not they are profitable. I don't believe those items are germane to the analysis. Thanks for the discussion, it great. RC