Well it looks like video rental behemoth Blockbuster is about to file for bankruptcy. There is a lesson here that touches both the retail market and technology in general. Just like when Barnes and Noble couldn't pivot when the Kindle surfaced, Blockbuster missed the boat when Netflix and Red Box appeared on the horizon. Now I am not saying that brick and mortar retailing is dead, but you are in a retail business that is so dependent on rapidly changing technology, you'd better be running with the lead dogs.
Blockbuster's response in earlier in the decade was a hostile takeover of Hollywood Video at a ridiculous price. It lost out to Movie Gallery who was effectively shut down earlier this year. Then came the purchase of Movie Link, a download service that was positioned against the Netflix' of the world, too little too late. Blockbuster also was in the process of deploying a Red Box like kiosk for video rental, again late to market. Brick and mortar has been replaced in this scenario by metal kiosks and internet downloads.
There was a time when you could see a Blockbuster on more corners than Starbucks. Video stores in general were like weeds popping up after a spring storm. The ride was great, but instead of changing the game and looking to new deployment strategies and new customer interaction models; Blockbuster did what most companies do that owe their life to the quarterly profit machine, they milked the current model. I guess that is not too surprising given Blockbuster was originally started and owned by two Waste Management executives, you see garbage isn't as dynamic as the video industry.
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