140 Blockbuster Retailers Closing by Month's End

A long legal process that included stints at the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice sees Blockbuster Canada finally dropping out of the competition against media distribution giant Netflix and similar services as it was pushed into receivership just a few days ago. Historically speaking, Blockbuster has been fighting deficits for quite some time having posted a $35 million net deficit in 2007. The final nail in the coffin for the once king of rentals came when Hollywood Movie Studios sought to collect on Blockbuster’s debt of over $70 million. The cross Canada movie and videogame rental retailer has continually failed to attract new customers, and thus has no choice but to sell off its remaining assets.

 

Renting movies and videogames at $5+ each for a night or two just isn't cutting it anymore.

 

However, not all is lost as the majority of Blockbusters retailers will remain open as the receiver is looking to redefine the Blockbuster brand. It is likely that the game and movie passes will be at the forefront of any marketing strategy that the new ownership implements. The complete list of stores that will continue to operate as if nothing was happening is available here, although this list has been and may continue to be altered in the days to come.

 

On the other side, the complete list of stores that will be closed by the end of June can be accessed by clicking here. Some of those that are closing have begun posting minimum 50% deals on all merchandise including newly released videogames while the remainder of the retailers are expected to follow suit by the end of the week. In addition to these 50% deals, several older videogame titles are being sold at '2 for 12.98' including Velvet Assassin, UFC 2009, and James Cameron's Avatar the Game among others.

 

For more in-depth information about Blockbusters’ financial issues, feel free to read the following Globe and Mail articles that note Blockbuster’s steady decline including ‘Key’ Blockbuster Canada executives could get big bonuses, and Blockbuster Canada pushed into Receivership.

 

Joshua McCaul, NoobFeed.com