The Blockbuster Decline

Over the past few years many of the big home movie rental stores have received stiff competition from online counterparts. Earlier this month Blockbuster announced their plan to hire a consulting team to restructure and perhaps declare bankruptcy, in order to save their massive media service.

Companies like Netflix are capitalizing on the current state of the economy, while sales for walk in stores declined during the rise of gas prices last summers, Netflix has been able to increase the number in their customer base by having DVD delivered through the mail. So what can Blockbuster due to keep themselves in business? Well many of Blockbusters competitors were able to hedge their risk and differentiate themselves by entering a niche market, that Blockbuster has not currently been able to compete with. By renting lesser known, "cult classic" titles, smaller businesses have been able to grasp the indie movie scene. Other stores have also been using gimmicks like having memorabilia available to gander at while perusing their stores.

So what can a company like Blockbuster due to save their store from what seem like a multifaceted attack on all fronts? Does Blockbuster have the infrastructure needed to revamp the way they rent movies to compete with both the online and niche indie segments? Will Blockbuster become the next Hollywood Video? I guess time will tell.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/06/smallbusiness/last_movie_rental_stores.smb/index.htm?postversion=2009030611