Comments on: Blockbuster just don’t know what they’ve got.

By: Christopher Fahey

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 17:05:19 +0000

Blockbuster decided a few years ago that their best business strategy was to acknowledge that they were defeated (by piracy, Netflix, DVR, their own incompetance) and that the only thing to do was to simply squeeze as much profit as possible from their dying husk of a company. No future investment, no strategic thinking. Just let things fall apart, cut back on training, gut their workforce quality and size, neglect all cleaning and maintenance… and collect whatever money they can until, one by one, the stores all close down.

Okay, I don’t know if this is a fact, but all the evidence supports it.

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By: Geoff

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:01:22 +0000

Look at what Borders (bookshop) have achieved. They are a big “evil” corp, yet the coffee shop, the community evenings, the hand-scrawled reviews by staff that are on the shelves, the staff picks. And they let you spend hours reading and scuffing up the books…

I can’t help but like Borders. Antithesis of Blockbuster!

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By: Jennifer

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:59:00 +0000

I’d love to have seen the meeting where they managed to convince themselves that a tanning parlor was a good complement – that’s so funny!

In my home town, some of the gambling shops (called Nobles amusements, I think) have tanning parlors in.

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By: Mike

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:20:44 +0000

I remember in college visiting an Xtra-Vision (similar to blockbuster, and now owned by the same company well up the hierarchy) and asking for Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. I needed it for a film class in which I had no work, and iut was a total copout choice for an overdue essay. The member of staff laughed, told me it wasn’t there, and explained:
“We stock NEW movies, not GOOD movies”….

This is still policy.

Interestingly, the Irish branches of Blockbuster don’t seem to know what they want to be. As piracy keeps killing off rentals, they reduce their floorspace for DVDs further. My local Blockbuster now has a huge web cafe, a small DVD section, and has a large tanning parlour in the back. And they close at ten – if they’re putting staff cosst above late rentals, it must be in trouble….

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By: Jennifer

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:47:22 +0000