Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Blockbuster Stores Closing Completely

There are currently 300 physical Blockbuster stores left in the United States. By January of 2014, all stores will be closed, signaling the end of an era.

Blockbuster Video first opened in 1985, and quickly rose to prominence. Wayne Huizenga (former Miami Dolphins & Marlins owner) purchased Blockbuster in 1987 and the chain started to grow, becoming a massively successful company in the 1990s which continued into the early 2000s. With the quick rise of convenient digital items, streaming services like Netlflix and OnDemand rentals through cable companies, Blockbuster quickly went downhill in the late 2000s and filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Dish Network purchased the company which has kept the remaining stores alive for the past few years, though 2014 marks the end of all physical Blockbuster stores.

Anyone who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s probably has fond memories of walking into a Blockbuster store as a kid and seeing what seemed like miles of movies and video games to rent down long aisles. And also remembers rushing to the store to try and slide the Video/DVD/game into the slot in time to not get the high fees added to your card.
A sight you'll never see again after 2014

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