I'm suprised by this.
I thought they'd have gone under already!
Will be a good oppurtunity to grab some cheap games and dvds in the "Closing Down" sale.
Might also take on their £14.99 online game rental, order 3 new games (+3 more using hot tickets) and hope they go bust before the free trial ends!
A couple of days ago, in the HMV thread, I asked (as did some others) "who next?"
I didn't expect an answer that fast, but I guess I'm not surprised at who it was, since many of the same issues apply.?
There is a blockbuster within about a 2 min walk from me.
I've used it once in five years.
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There won't be a closing down sale. Or at least, not yet.Originally Posted by Chadders87
The administrators always (because they are legally obliged to) seek to maximise the value of the assets, and if the business is basically viable (and theadminiztrator has said BB is) thst will almost always involve selling it as a going concern, and that almost always involves trading it until a buyer is found.
If the administrator is right, a buyer probably will be found, for most, if not all, stores. Only if that fails is a closing down bargain likely to happen. So we have to wait and see if that happens, and/or how long they wait.
It all depends in exactly what the critical problems with the business are. But from the administrator's comments, BB isn't in quite the mess HMV were. Of course, that could change.
Our lodger worked at Blockbuster a year back, and they seemed to be doing OK then - in fact, per the BBC report, "The core of the business is still profitable". Makes you wonder why they've suddenly announced administration now? Perhaps there's a hope that someone might buy Blockbuster AND HMV and seek to establish a larger high-street trading base? Or have they just overstretched themselves with debts they're having trouble servicing?
Sometimes, Jim, it's a preventative step, pre-emptive, as it were. A lot depends onwhat type of administration it is, and the press often seem to fail to understand the differences.
It can be, for instance, a move to force all (major) creditors to get involved, and the courts, to prevent a selfish strike by one creditor (often a bank), so that that one cannot cream off the top, perhaps by a more devastating move than a more balanced move. It can be a protective move fo prevent a strike, rather than a legally mandatory one because the company is insolvent. Which this is, I've no idea.
The Blockbuster near me closed down over the weekend, so I wandered in there Friday lunchtime in search of bargains. Perhaps I left it too late and they'd already gone, but I was suprised how much everything was despite being 50% off!
Haven't been in a Blockbusters in at least 5 years.
With DVDs often selling for < £5 delivered and Blurays for < £10 is there really still a market for a rental outfit, especially with the likes of Lovefilem and Netflix offering cheap monthly streaming subscriptions!?
Yes, there's a market, for instance, among those with no computer, or too slow a broadband connection. The real question is whether, given the overheads of a retail chain operation, it's big enough .... or more relevantly, the business can be restructured in a way that it can cover whatever overheads are implied by the nature of that restructure. Presumably, the administrators think it can be done, or they wouldn't be seeking a buyer and continuing to trade the business while they do.
I'm pretty fed up about this actually. I hate the subscription based things because it means that I have to wait for them to send out what I actually want to watch, rather than something at number 50 on my list. I also had a number of duff DVDs come through previously - especially kids ones.
When BB did a 4 movies for 3 nights for £10 deal, I'd grab all the new releases and watch them. I have no interest at all in owning massive collections of DVDs/Blurays as I usually only watch them once, and I'm too lazy to buy and sell them on to make a quid or so, so they end up just take up space and gathering dust.
I'm not sold on the whole streaming thing until we get MASSIVE Internet connections. I don't want to be half way through a movie and then see "Bufferring.........."
how much do they charge these days for an old/new movie rental?
the american blockbusters went bust in 2011 but were bought by another company. the UK BB is seperate
Last time I was in there, 99p for old and 2.50/3.50 for a DVD/BluRay new release.
99p for a rental seems very reasonable. May be they do still have a place on the high street then.
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