A yellow banner out front of Blockbuster reads: Store Closing–This Location Only.
At this point they are liquidating all of their merchandise and closing the doors officially on December 15th, according to an employee. Movies rentals are now unavailable. Everything is for sale.
The number of Blockbuster locations has dwindled down to less than 300 stores give or take. But honestly, with Netflix and Redbox, a traditional video store is like the heel of bread, you just skip it until it’s your last option.
Could Blockbuster’s demise come from the multiple failed promotions? How about this commercial from a few years ago: Someday you’ll remember where you were when there were no more late fees at Blockbuster. But what they really meant to say was you’ve got seven days or you’ll be purchasing the movie.
DISH Network purchased the Blockbuster chain in a bankruptcy auction in 2011. They had planned to keep 90 percent of the outlets open but now Dish will lay off as many as 2,800 employees. So the cheery folks over at our local Blockbuster are out of jobs. Thanks Mr. Terrible Marketing Director.
Roy Orbison’s song “It’s Over” was the 2005 commercial’s background and isn’t it kinda crazy Blockbuster had a theme song for their own self-fulfilling prophecy? Will Corvallisites remember where they were when the last video store closed its doors in their town?
by Mandy Clark
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com