February 26, 2004 04:11 PM US Eastern Timezone
Borders Books & Music Stores Achieve Record-Breaking First Week Sales of Norah Jones’ CD `Feels Like Home’; Customers Embrace Adult Contemporary Music Like Never Before
ANN ARBOR, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 26, 2004–Norah Jones’ latest CD release “Feels Like Home” hit the ground running upon its release February 10, achieving greater first week sales at Borders Books & Music than any other music title in Borders’ history.
“Borders customers embraced Norah Jones early on, and we’ve seen an overwhelming response for her second recording,” says Peter Faricy, Borders’ vice president of multimedia. “We’ve been known to foster the careers of singer songwriters over the years, from Ani DiFranco to Diana Krall, and customers now come to us when looking for this type of music.”
The nationwide book and music retailer has always seen strong sales in the jazz, classical and easy listening categories, partly because of an unparalleled selection, a commitment to educate listeners through their Jazz and Classical Essentials programs and easily accessible music samples via digital listening stations. Adult contemporary music titles across genres have experienced a resurgence of success over the past few years. Recently, well-established artists like Rod Stewart, Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand have all had best-selling CDs at Borders featuring their renditions of classic torch songs from the Twentieth Century.
In addition to Jones’ latest release, Borders stores are currently recommending: Harry Connick, Jr., “Only You”; Melissa Etheridge, “Lucky”; Cyndi Lauper, “The Essential Cyndi Lauper”; Cassandra Wilson, “Glamoured”; Josh Groban, “Closer”; Sarah Brightman, “Harem.” Additional information on Borders’ recommended titles is available at www.bordersstores.com.
Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company employs 32,000 people worldwide and operates more than 445 Borders domestic superstores; 37 international Borders stores, located primarily in the U.K. and the Pacific Rim; 36 Books etc. stores throughout Great Britain; and over 700 Waldenbooks stores in malls across America. Teamed with Amazon.com, the company also offers online shopping through Borders.com (www.borders.com) and Waldenbooks.com (www.waldenbooks.com). More detailed information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com. Information regarding Borders store locations, in-store events and title reservation is available through www.bordersstores.com.
