Blockbuster - Under The Gavel!

Even amid reports today in the Wall Street Journal that investors like billionaire Carl Icahn, Dish Network and even South Korean company SK Telecom, are reportedly preparing bids for Blockbuster ahead of its auction on Monday, I can never quite understand American business that fold and go bankrupt in an industry that is growing or evolving into something bigger and better. Why do companies continue to run themselves into the ground, all the while paying huge salaries to creators, CEOs and Board of Directors, who do not force the said companies to connect and embrace the new technology of its original idea?

It is hard to believe Blockbuster could not have been a leader in the streaming, VOD, online and mailing DVD business or quickly merged or bought out those upstarts, like Netflix, at the very beginning. Blockbuster obviously changed over from VHS cassettes to DVD and Blu-Ray. However, this was not enough, real change was required, changes in the corporate attitude, corporate culture (oxymoron?), Research & Development and the most critical and important step -- integration of the data and information into consumer needs, current trends and future marketplace demands.

As the cliché goes, “One day you’re in. The next you’re out.” A company should not and cannot transcend the marketplace based on clichés. It must predict and set trends, it must remain fresh and modern as the day it start and a viable commodity to generations ahead.
Today, Bloomberg reported that more than 50 creditors have filed objections to a sale in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. These are apart from the larger creditors, like Hollywood studios, who agreed to a deal earlier this month that allowed the auction process to move forward.

Whatever the situation, the gavel will come down on Blockbuster as it did not have the foresight to keep up.