Blockbuster Closing 500 More Locations, Optimistic

[omnimodis78]

Can't write anything which hasn't already been written, but seriously, video rental places are so out of touch with the times it almost seems they exist in a bubble! Who are they serving? Who actually goes out and rents movies? Games, maybe - but movies? I am sorry to see people losing their jobs, but it's impossible to revive a dead-cold horse...

 

[pharge]

Not a surprise...

The sad part is that now people have one less place to look for a parttime job.

Those corner stores used to harbor many job opportunities (specially for students and lower income families).. but many of them are gone because of the mega stores and online stores.

Don't get me wrong, I love netflex, redbox, amazon, and specially neweggs... but hearing this kind of news just make me sad and... a little guilty....

 

[hennnry]

ghaleon1980， do you know that netflix and red box got their major business from physical deliverance of discs, not digital streaming? How does blockbuster dying away any form of proof on digital distribution? It only proved that red box and netflix had a better model for renting out real, physically existing movies.

 

[hillarymakesmecry]

Ya'll can keep digital distribution for the time being. It would take over 24 hours for me to DL an HD movie on my connection. My speeds max out at 200mbps and are usually 40-50 when I download. I could make it to Redbox and back 100 times in 24 hours.

Digital downloads suck unless you've got an expensive connection.

 

[Guest]

I still rent physical discs from a local `mom-and-pop` shop, though it's been a while. Rentals are a little over $3/night after tax, but I don't mind supporting the business. You can't get the classic video store smell of plastic cases, discs, and VHS tapes from a digital download. Plus they offer free popcorn and discounts on multiple rentals.

 

[dman3k]

Blockbuster is just too darn expensive plus that you have to deal with ignorant teenagers at the cash counter.

 

[ghaleon1980]

hennnry, you do realize that Netflix is expanding their digital distribution division daily? They foresee this being the main form of usage very soon. Have you ever heard of game downloadable services such as Steam for PC gaming that are exploding?

Digital distribution is making very large strides, that's all I'm saying.

 

[hellwig]

I actually saw a Blockbuster Kiosk in Minnesota the other day. $1 rentals just like a RedBox. I was truly amazed. They're a few years late to the game, but if they can expand to places RedBox hasn't reached yet, they might just stay alive. Brick and Mortar stores will be gone soon enough, but those kiosks are a better deal than Netflix for people who only watch one or two (or fewer) movies a month.

 

[Socialdisorder]

That's to bad. It sucks that people are going to loose there jobs, but the company failed to improve there position in the market. When you have $1 rentals everywhere, and netflix doing instant streaming. It is hard to compete.

 

[oncall]

While I think BB could make a viable go at rentals via kiosks like Redbox I think it is not enough to stave off bankruptcy. Their stock is a penny stock now. Whether they saw the train coming or not really doesn't matter because they are simply too big to move out of the way.

 

[10tacle]

Yet another example of poor senior corporate management skills coming from our colleges (and grade schools) over the last several decades. If the Blockbuster execs couldn't read the tea leaves and see the future of the likes of NetFlix, then pox on them.

One of the first things I learned in undergraduate business school was forecasting trends and paying attention to direct and potential competition. These guys obviously spent more time on the golf course than reading and understanding an industry that would affect them.

As for the employees, basically the same thing. They should have known their sector of the retail business was in jeopardy. Times change, and to stay alive, you have to anticipate those changes and prepare for them. Lost jobs? Welcome to technology and change - and they aren't coming back either. We don't have any jobs making typewriters any more either, do we?

 

[psimitry1]

As a former Blockbuster employee, I knew my relationship with them was COMPLETELY over when I went in to rent a couple of X360 games not too long ago. Back when I went there, there was (other than hardware) no difference in price from product to product - the price of the rental was always $2.99 no matter what format it was.

Imagine my shock to find out that the two games I was renting came to almost $20. Because "the newer generation games are more expensive" the dude told me. Really. That's interesting considering that most games back when I was working there were N64 and cost $59 minimum, and the basic X360 game sells for $40-50. Additionally these are easier to store, and you don't lose them to theft like you did with the cartridges.

Yeah, that ended any relationship with Blockbuster that I had that day.

 

[bcube]

their price model not correct

 

[amdchuck]

[citation][nom]hillarymakesmecry[/nom]Ya'll can keep digital distribution for the time being. It would take over 24 hours for me to DL an HD movie on my connection. My speeds max out at 200mbps and are usually 40-50 when I download. I could make it to Redbox and back 100 times in 24 hours.Digital downloads suck unless you've got an expensive connection.[/citation]

I don't know what you are smoking but my measly 15 Mbps cable connection is more than adequate enough to download "HD" quality media in a fraction of the 24 hours you claim. Whether it's downloading full uncompressed disk images/encoded media files or even real time streaming of media encoded at 720 or even 1080 using H264

 

[oncall]

"If the Blockbuster execs couldn't read the tea leaves and see the future of the likes of NetFlix, then pox on them."

True, but like all "physical store" model businesses before them they simply cannot unwind their current business model and move to a new one fast enough to make it viable. Assuming they were all over online distribution at the start, with 1000s of stores they would have just gone bankrupt a little slower. Look at another business like books. Does anyone seriously think the Nook is going to save Barnes & Noble if in fact the big bookstore model is dying? The Nook might keep the name B&N alive but the stores, employees and benefits will ultimately drag that company into bankruptcy.

 

[gorehound]

I work in a video store as the office and support man and my friend owns this sttore.Videoport in Portland, maine.
I have seen remts getting smaller each year and this is an awful thing.I refuse to have anything to do with digital files and I have been on computers since 1993 !!! Why won't I buy digital ? Because going all digital kills retail stores and is not a good idea.Folks need to get off the couch and take a walk/drive.See some other people and do some shopping with your freinds/wive/girlfriend,etc.In other words get a life.
Keep buying eboooks and how long will you see real paper based books and bookstores you can browse thru.
Keep buying digitasl music/films and how long till videostores and music stores go to the graveyard.
Videoport has around a dozen employees.A few of them have families with 2 children each.Our employer is so nice he gives us vacations,holidays,and medical insurance.
What do you think will happen to all of us if he goes under ???

 

[rexoverbey]

Blockbuster used to be better than netflix with their online/by mail service. Then they got gready and took away their unlimited returns to the store. IMO they need to add that back to complete with Netflix. On top of adding free online streaming site, instead of their online pay per view crap.

 

[mikeynavy1976]

The only thing I get from Blockbuster is Blu-Ray anyways. I wouldn't mind changing but I'm not convinced on digital distribution yet. I haven't subscribed to Netflix but that may be a future option. Unless the streaming thing is user friendly (I haven't tried it) I'd be hesitant for a few reasons. I've used On Demand for cable, which I'm assuming (and admit could be wrong) is similar to the digital argument people are describing. I found it unfriendly and a pain to have to scroll through a bunch of movies. It works if you know exactly what but many times I go to Blockbuster just to browse and end up getting something I didn't intend to but sounded good. I also enjoy Blu-ray over On Demand for the DTSHDMA and Dolby TrueHD audio. Are other outlets capable of outputting these formats?

 

[oncall]

Gorehound I hear ya. It's business, as cold as that sounds. All the mom-and-pop stores I knew as a child are long since wiped out by the big box stores like Comp USA, Good Guys, Circuit city, etc. And now these big box stores I knew as a young adult are gone. If you see what's coming, it's not if it's when, hopefully you have time to prepare.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Old news! We've been hearing it for quite some time. Prices to rent a dvd are too high.