Death comes for all businesses

I came across an interesting Washington Post article this morning about a local business doomed by large competitors:

In a quiet alcove, in a circle of 14 chairs and with a 496-page book on their laps, club members discussed events an ocean and several lifetimes away. But they had the present in mind, too: What will become of their monthly meeting spot?

Borders, they know, is struggling to survive. It recently suspended payments to book publishers. Dozens of its stores across the country, including several in the Washington area, have closed. For many in the industry - and for this group of Borders regulars - the question is not whether the chain will go under, but when.

What sets this piece apart from the routine Big-Companies-Are-Shutting-Down-Our-Corner-Store formula is the subject is part of a national chain and not a small business. The hopeless lamenting and deep sighing while waiting for the ax to drop, however, are exactly the same.

This is a routine part of the business world and new technologies - not just economies of scale - will (and need to) kill older business models.