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Posted by Tony on 12/22/27 11:25
Blockbuster.... hmmmm.... Blockbuster? I might have heard of them. Is that
the place with 5000 copies of "Pearl Harbor" and "Star Wars- The Toys Keep
Coming"? Or is it the place where "Booty Call 7" and "Dumb & Dumber" make up
50% of the "classics" section? Or perhaps both?
--
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"Black Locust" <bl2112@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bl2112-84992A.02423731082005@news.uswest.net...
> Blockbuster Fights Back
> Author: ERIK GRUENWEDEL
> egruenwedel@questex.com
> Posted: August 29, 2005
>
>
> Blockbuster Inc., reeling from a disastrous second quarter and soft
> rental market, will increase by $3 the two-titles-out in-store Movie
> Pass subscription to $27.99 at select stores beginning Sept. 6. The move
> follows a similar price increase for Blockbuster Online earlier this
> month.
> Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove downplayed the increase, saying
> the company continually evaluates its numerous pricing plans.
> Even though we are adjusting the price on Movie Pass, we still think it
> offers a terrific value for our customers, Hargrove said.
> The No. 1 video rental company also would appear to be jettisoning VHS
> despite claims to the contrary. Calls to random Blockbuster stores
> across the country revealed little or no VHS product available < except
> for select childrens and Spanish titles < and a consensus the format
> was all but history.
> Its definitely phasing out, said an employee at a Michigan
> Blockbuster. Its basically down to kids stuff.
> Yeah, we carry a few [VHS], said another Blockbuster staffer at a
> store in Orange County, Calif. Well, wait S not that many. Actually,
> they are pretty much gone. Hargrove denied Blockbuster was exiting the
> VHS rental business. He said the company continued to determine product
> mix as well as format mixes in each store based on customer preferences.
> The elimination of late fees cost Blockbuster 15 percent in rental
> revenue in the second quarter, according to a company filing < a fact
> that prompted scuttlebutt regarding possible reinstatement of late fees
> at select stores.
> About 515 franchise stores in the United States participated in the end
> of late fees program as of the second quarter, according to company
> filings.
> Blockbuster, which reported $9 million in quarterly revenue from related
> sales and restocking fees of nonreturned rental product following
> expiration of the 30-day return period, expects a surge of in-store and
> online rental comps beginning in the fourth quarter.
> Hargrove said the company had no plans to alter the end of late fees
> program, which he said in the first six months of the year had increased
> rental activity among active members.
> Half of our franchise stores participate [in the Ono late fees
> program], and that has been consistent since we launched the program,
> Hargrove said. For the other half, it is up to them whether they want
> to participate or not. They are independent business people doing what
> they think is right for their business and their customers.
> Rival Movie Gallery, which continues to charge late fees, has avoided
> the media backlash directed at Blockbusters use of the issue as a
> marketing ploy largely due to its No. 2 status, said retail analyst
> Dennis McAlpine with McAlpine Associates.
> I never heard anyone say Movie Gallery gouges the public because they
> charge late fees, said McAlpine. [Blockbuster was] damned if they did
> and damned if they didnt.
>
> Credit: www.homemediaretailing.com
> --
> "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
> They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our
people,
> and neither do we." - George Dumbya Bush
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