Blockbuster

Why 13 brands fell off a cliff and disappeared

We love brands, right? We marvel at the most successful, and feel genuine sorrow for previously loved brands that disappear.

The life of any company founded today is shortening as time goes on. Brands have disappeared, and will continue to do so, for many different reasons.

A company can seriously jeopardise its future by taking its eye off the ball for less than a year. Agile methodology is becoming more and more important, as power is wrested away from old-school, bean-counting management.

This post presents some lost brands, some soon to be lost, and asks the question ‘why exactly?’

The high street needs to innovate or die

It’s been a sad, but inevitable, week for British retail

This week, two former staples of the UK High Street hit their bottom, calling in administrators: HMV; and Blockbuster.

Added to Comet’s demise at the end of last year, the British consumer has seen a lot of household names fail recently.

Blockbuster announces exclusive rentals but fails to deliver streaming

Blockbuster has announced a series of exclusive DVD rental partnerships as it plans to take on streaming services like LoveFilm and Netflix.

Following a deal with several Hollywood studios including Disney, Icon and Lionsgate, new movies including Drive and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy will be available to rent in the UK from Blockbuster for three weeks prior to general release.

The DVDs can be rented online or at one of Blockbuster’s 600 high street stores, but cannot be streamed online.

Blockbuster on the verge of defeat in battle against Netflix, technology

Once-dominant video rental chain Blockbuster is trying its hardest to
prove that it can compete in the 21st century. It is closing down
stores, and has been bulking up its on-demand offering.

But it looks like it may be too little, too late. Last Thursday, the New
York Stock Exchange announced that the company would be delisted from
the exchange after the company failed to win shareholder approval for a measure that would boost the company’s stock price above $1, the
exchange’s minimum. More often than not, a company’s delisting is signal of impending demise.