(By Richard Holway 10.00pm 3rd March 09) News tonight that Blockbuster was ‘exploring bankruptcy filing’ (The Times) reminded me of the demise of Woolworths. Both companies had seemed a fixture on the high street but somehow had just gone well past their sell-by date. This is not something caused by the current recession – but, just like a hurricane, it has hastened the demise of the weakest.Blockbuster had seen its business eroded from all sides. Online rental services for the physical DVD product and downloads for the soft product. Blockbuster’s model was great for VHS video tape but is now pretty much redundant.
I really think this is what recessions do. It is one of the reasons why I strongly believe that we will see a hastening in the adoption of new technologies and new ways of doing things. The move to online downloads, and the use of services like iPlayer, will just be accelerated by Blockbuster’s demise. And frankly, I won’t shed a single tear
how sad
ReplyDeletei wanted to work there