They have over 7000 stores, 5000 in the US alone. Does anyone actually believe blockbuster can survive vs NFLX, Redbox or DVD express. I rent movies at my local grocery store for one damn dollar, blockbuster has raped so many customers over the last 2 decades that im glad they are closing down 960 stores. Blockbuster do everyone a favor and please shut down all 7000 locations, you cannot compete vs one dollar movie kiosks. They are trying to get into the kiosk business but of course they are thousands short of their competition. redbox and dvdexpress own this business not blockbuster. File bankruptcy and call it quits. Blockbuster may close as many as 960 US stores Blockbuster may close as many as 960 stores to cut costs amid fierce competition * By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer * On Tuesday September 15, 2009, 7:08 pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Blockbuster Inc. may close as many as 960 stores by the end of next year, shedding more dead weight as the struggling video rental chain tries to reverse its losses and fend off rapidly growing rivals Netflix Inc. and Redbox. AP - FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2009 file photo, a pedestrian walks past a Blockbuster Video store in ... AP - FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2009 file photo, a pedestrian walks past a Blockbuster Video store in ... The cuts outlined in documents filed Tuesday would leave Blockbuster with about 20 percent fewer U.S. stores. The previously confidential documents didn't identify the locations of the endangered stores. Blockbuster hasn't made any final decisions on the possible store closures, Chief Executive James Keyes said in an interview Tuesday. Keyes described the closures as something that Blockbuster is considering as it sets up more DVD-rental kiosks in the stores of other merchants. It's a concept that has been popularized by Coinstar Inc.'s Redbox. By the middle of next year, Blockbuster hopes to have 10,000 kiosks scattered around the country. It had just 500 kiosks at the end of August. "We could have fewer physical stores and still have more rental points for our customers," Keyes said. Blockbuster's shift serves as another reminder of video stores' waning appeal as consumers buy and rent movies through the mail, on the Internet and through cable connections and standalone kiosks. The shift has threatened to turn once-mighty Blockbuster into a dinosaur. The Dallas-based company has been trying to evolve by embracing kiosks and expanding into rentals delivered through the mail and the Internet. But it hasn't been enough to justify keeping so many stores open, prompting management to consider cutting much deeper than it anticipated to save money and keep its lenders happy. About 18 percent of Blockbuster's stores aren't making money, according to the documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blockbuster is thinking about closing between 810 and 960 of its U.S. stores before 2011, up from the 380 to 425 stores that normally would be closed during that time span, according to Tuesday's filing. As of mid-August, Blockbuster had closed 276 stores so far this year. Besides closing stores, Blockbuster indicated that it will convert at least 250 stores into smaller outlets. If Blockbuster hits the high end of the new target for store closures, it will represent 22 percent of its 4,356 stores in the United States. Netflix's DVD-by-mail service, launched a decade ago, has hit Blockbuster particularly hard as more households have embraced the concept of picking out their rental choices online before the DVDs are delivered through the mail for a monthly subscription fee that usually runs from $9 to $17. In the last two years, Netflix lured even more customers by building up its library of movies available for instant viewing over high-speed Internet connections. Netflix now has 10.6 million subscribers and, unlike Blockbuster, is becoming more profitable. The Los Gatos-based company earned $55 million through the first half of this year while Blockbuster lost $15 million. Redbox also has been hurting Blockbuster with its red kiosks that rent DVDs for just a $1 per night. That low price has proven particularly compelling during the recession as more people pinched pennies. In a Tuesday research note, Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth said Blockbuster's accelerated store closures should bolster Netflix. Investors seemed to agree as Netflix shares surged $1.69, or 3.9 percent, to close Tuesday at $44.97. Blockbuster's cost-cutting plans also pleased Wall Street as its shares gained 7 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $1.40.
Yeah, I saw where you called it on the other thread. Good one! Blockbuster really sucks bad (and I mean bad!) ... couldn't have happened to a better outlet, LOL.
There isn't going to be any reorganization, they are taking it entirely to slow, 960 stores is not enough, they need to close all 7000, they actually think there is a market for storefronts that still rent out movies, this isn't 1986, they are extremely late getting into the kiosk business because probably at one point they thought it was just a small trend, until you can start renting movies on a set top box for less than a dollar these kiosks will continue to do extremely well. Movies on through my cable provider are $5, that to me is extremely high. These cable companies have to start offering more for less in order to compete with these $1 DVD kiosks.
Just like in the early 1980's when gold outlets were popping up everywhere, of course we all know what happened, gold tanked and everyone shut down, as usual. I would wonder who would rent up all those blockbuster stores now, only about a 1000 going bye bye, maybe they should just shut all 5000 like I said, wonder what retailer would want in on those empty stores. Again more commercial real estate property making its way down the tubes.
Pawn shops, payday loan facilities, taco and burrito joints, anything that has to do with pets.....those seem to be the only "growth" businesses now. They could also be converted into residential housing. That way, you could almost live in a "glass house".
I stopped going to BallBuster after getting a call that my movie was overdue 3 out of the last four times I went. Each time I went to the store and the movie was found on the shelf. I suspect it was part of their "no late fee" promo where if you didn't return the disc on time they would charge your account for the purchase price. I watch a Netflix every night of the week at about $1 per movie.
They failed to recognize the trends of netflix and redbox. At best all they are good for is renting video games