Blockbuster (movie rental store)
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| Subsidiary | |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | October 19, 1985 Dallas, Texas |
| Founder | David Cook |
| Headquarters | Meridian, Colorado |
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Number of locations
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12 (USA) 27 (AU) |
| Services | VHS/DVD home video rentals |
| Total assets | $37,000,000 (2010) |
| Parent | Dish Network |
| Divisions |
Sling TV Dish Movie Pack |
| Website | blockbuster |
Blockbuster LLC (formerly Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc.), often shortened to Blockbuster, was an American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services through video rental shops, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster consisted of nearly 60,000 employees and over 8,000 stores. As a result of various factors including competition from Netflix, Redbox, and video on demand services, Blockbuster lost significant revenue and filed for bankruptcy protection on September 23, 2010. On April 6, 2011, the company and its remaining 1,700 stores were bought by satellite television provider Dish Network. While the Blockbuster brand has mostly been retired, Dish still maintains some Blockbuster franchise agreements, keeping stores in some markets.
Blockbuster was founded in 1985 by David Cook as an idea out of Cook Data Services. The company's main intention was to supply software services to the oil and gas industries of the state of Texas, which was not successful. Cook's wife, Sandy, later suggested that he enter the video rental business. Several months after her suggestion, Cook sold his oil and gas software to its managers and founded what would later be called Blockbuster Video.
The first Blockbuster store opened October 19, 1985, in Dallas, Texas. The innovation was derived from Cook's experience with managing huge databases. After the first few stores opened, Cook built a $6 million warehouse in Garland, Texas, that could pull and package multiple stores in a day. Key to the early success of Blockbuster was their ability to customize a store to its neighborhood, loading it up with films geared specifically to demographic profiles in addition to the popular new releases, and a sizable catalog of titles.
In 1987, the company won a court case against Nintendo of America, Inc, which paved the way for the rental of video games.
Scott Beck of Dallas approached John Melk, prior executive with Waste Management, about buying a franchise. Melk brought the idea to his friend and business associate, Wayne Huizenga, who agreed to buy the company after overcoming initial concerns about the video industry. Huizenga and Melk used similar techniques in growing Waste Management, and soon, they were opening a store every 24 hours. They also bought every Blockbuster franchise they could acquire. Huizenga spent the late 1980s acquiring several of Blockbuster's rivals, including Major Video.
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