Blockbuster may be going the way of other big-box retailers who couldn”™t beat the competition.
Since opening in 1985, it became the place to go for movies, popcorn and game rentals. As it grew, it offered movie sales, memorabilia and handed out free rentals to customers.
Today, publicly traded Blockbuster is nearly $1 billion in debt and may seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as competition from Netflix and Red Box has made getting rentals easier and cheaper and television provides movies on demand to a growing audiences of subscribers.
It voluntarily de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange after shareholders turned down a reverse stock split. It now trades on the pink sheets under BLOKB.
With 9,000 retail stores and 60,000 employees globally, the company is trying to raise capital to avoid bankruptcy. It has also entered into the “kiosk” business, similar to Red Box, as a way to stay alive in the competitive market.
With dozens of locations in the Hudson Valley and Westchester County, stores are seeing business slow to a trickle. Its Montgomery store in Orange County recently closed.
“If these storefronts close, it will have an impact on the retail market,” said John LaVelle, commercial broker for R.J. Smith Realty in Pine Bush. “It”™s a sign of the times ”“ companies are finding ways to do more business with less space.”
Back in January 2009, the U.S. News and World Report listed Blockbuster as one of the companies not expected to see a new year. While the company made that benchmark, it remains to be seen if it can ride out 2010 with a new business model.
