Blockbuster Needs More Stores?!?

from the so-it-goes... dept

Just as some were wondering if there really was a future in store-based video rentals, Blockbuster comes along and tries to buy out rival Hollywood Video. Blockbuster already seems to have stores every 500 feet or so (there are almost as many Blockbusters as Starbucks where I live, and that's not easy to do), so it's unclear how having them every 300 feet will help their business very much.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    data64, 11 Nov 2004 @ 8:20am

    buying out a rival

    They are just interested in the customer base, and not the stores for the most part.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    incognito, 11 Nov 2004 @ 8:30am

    Hol and BB

    So I wonder what the chances are that the FTC will deny it this time.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mike(no, not that mike), 11 Nov 2004 @ 9:17am

    I suppose

    Well before hollywood video came along Blockbuster really kinda stuck it to their customers. I don't know if any of you remember the higher prices for less days and non-nogotiable late fees. When hollywood came along blockbuster actually had to start competing. I hope they stay seperate, not that I rent movies very often but I still don't like getting robbed when I do.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Kevin, 17 Nov 2004 @ 11:33am

      Re: I suppose

      In utah Blockbuster stores have a sick way of entertaining themselves. If you are late on a video return, they imediatly send it to a collections agency, followed by a string of harrasing letters from that agency. Hollywood is people oriented and has no problem with you paying the late fee on your next visit.
      I figure it this way. If you rent a video, you go past the return date. You might as well keep it for another week, they are going to charge you for the week anyway. In the mean time I don't need my $4.50 late fee turned over to a collection agency. If Blockbuster buys Hollywood. I will find somewhere els to rent videow.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    RJD, 11 Nov 2004 @ 11:40am

    growth through elimination

    Buy the stores; collect the customers; sale the stores (assuming they aren't leased) there by making a profit on the buy out. Hollywood Movie stores aren't the competition anymore; it's Netflix and the vending machines that are starting to pop up. So you buy customers. Not an uncommon business practice particularly when the market is saturated and the opportunities for organic growth are little and none.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Nate, 11 Nov 2004 @ 1:15pm

    Don't believe the synergy BS

    The point of buyouts is not to merge the two companies but to shut down competitors.
    Can this possibly make it through anti-trust? Blockbuster is practically a monopoly with Hollywood its only token competition.
    I am sure they will invoke NetFlix and pay-per-view to try to make the case that they are not a monopoly.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 Nov 2004 @ 7:20am

      Re: Don't believe the synergy BS

      Actually, the video rental industry is still fairly fragmented with lots of "mom and pop" stores.

      Blockbuster is definitely the largest corporate player, and there probably isn't a lot of mom and pops in large portions of suburbia so it is a defacto monopoly for a lot of people, but from a U.S.-wide industry standpoint they aren't even close to being a monopoly.

      There are two mom and pops as close to my house as there is a Blockbuster and a Hollywood, but I use Netflix, so I really don't care.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Nov 2004 @ 7:20pm

    No Subject Given

    I think Blockbuster should try to buy Hollywood and take out all the competion.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.