No doubt Netflix is the hot commodity in the movie rental market with their online model proving quite popular due to the low monthly price below $10 and convenience of picking a movie from home. With that said, I spoke with several clerks in the store and they said business had actually picked up a bit since Blockbuster was getting certain key movies like "The Social Network" in advance of Netflix and that was driving some sales. Blockbuster was very slow out of the gate with the online model and probably has become unable to be profitable going forward as the bricks and mortar model may no longer work as a business model. The same thing happened to music stores ad I am remember being able to buy music at Sam Goody before it closed down too because of "high rent".
So is it just high rent or just simply a sign of the times?
Photo slidesow of belleagured Blockbuster below:
The good news is that two of the clerks I spoke to already have other jobs lined up. I also hear that nearby 7-11 is also struggling with their business model and the rent is too high for the volume that they are getting in that location. Could they be the next business to cut ties in my infrequent busness column "Das ist Kaput?" Stay tuned. ◦
