Once Upon A Time In America … Blockbuster Files For Bankruptcy | Hacker News Reader

Once Upon A Time In America … Blockbuster Files For Bankruptcy

techcrunch.com

5 pointsvkalladath4 comments

"after failing to adequately and swiftly adapt its movie-rental model from physical storefronts to mail-order and online technology "

No, I'd said their failing was that their stores sucked. I hated going in there. The movies were generally in alphabetical order, but they were still hard to find. That is, IF they had the movie in stock.

You couldn't walk in and be sure you were going to rent the movie you wanted... Unless it was brand new and they had a guarantee for it.

And video games? It was the worst video game rental store I've ever seen. And I'm talking about multiple stores in multiple cities. It was always the same way, and it was way worse than the movies section.

I quit using Blockbuster before online rental services existed. It was a lot less stressful to either go without or buy the game and just earn the money. I browsed a few Blockbuster stores in the last couple years, but nothing there convinced me the situation was any better, and I didn't rent anything.

I remember thinking, "They should hire any random teenage gamer and have them be in charge of picking games."

So no, I don't think Netflix killed Blockbuster. They killed themselves by not taking care of their customers' needs.

I don't have a Netflix subscription and I don't go to Blockbuster. I used to go there all the time for VHS tapes. When they switched to DVDs, I'd say most of the time if the movie wasn't brand new, it would be unwatchable. I'd have to get up off the couch and go exchange it for another that might work.

I don't watch many movies and when I do, usually it's a borred DVD or I'll catch it on HBO or my cable provider's on-demand service. Why do I need Blockbuster?

In my opinion, this is another in a long line of companies over the years that have underestimated the importance of the role of technology in their business. Furthermore, even companies that are technology-based will still struggle if they don't see themselves as a technology company.

For example -- as PG has written -- Yahoo saw itself as a "media company" rather than a technology company. Contrast this with Google.

From first-hand experience, I've seen how eBay is managed as a retail brand, rather than a technology company (and relied for years on acquisitions over home-grown tech). Contrast this with Amazon.

Once Netflix established itself in the marketplace and began executing their technology strategy, Blockbuster was doomed. I'm biased (because I'm a software guy), but I strongly believe that you are hobbled right out of the gate if you're not fully invested in growing your company's software tech.

Completely agree. This trend is happening in a bunch of different places.

Advertising agencies, historically relationship driven, are now building demand side platforms to acquire media using technology.

Brokerages went through this transition during the eTrade boom.

Video games is currently being disrupted with companies like OnLive, Gaikai and OTOY. GameStop is trying to prevent their total loss of share by offering digital content purchasing in store.

Books - Kindle

Music - iTunes

et al

And so on.

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