Online rivals bring brutal end to Blockbuster story

independent

Enjoy the neon lighting and over-priced junk food while you can.

Blockbuster, the video rental chain which at one time seemed to have a blue-and-yellow presence in every strip mall in America, is teetering on the brink of collapse and may file for bankruptcy in the US as early as next month.
In a move that may represent the final nail in the coffin for the neighbourhood video store, the firm's executives are said to have held meetings this week with all six of the so-called "major" Hollywood studios at which they unveiled plans to enter a pre-planned insolvency in the middle of September.

Declining public appetite for DVD rentals, together with increased competition from mail-order rivals such as Netflix, the US version of LoveFilm, have destroyed the firm's business model