Back in the day there used to be these things called VHS tapes. They used to cost a lot of money — so there were these places you could go to rent them. The last surviving relic of this bygone era, Blockbuster Video (also known as the company that was almost stupid enough to buy Circuit City), announced in a regulatory filing today that it plans to close over 800 stores by the end of next year. This is nearly twice the number they previously announced.

The LA Times says that 18% of the chains stores are unprofitable — and 47% are barely profitable. The company plans to get away from physical stores and concentrate on opening kiosks to compete with the surging popularity of Redbox.

In all, the Times says that as many of 1,560 of Blockbuster’s 4,356 stores could close down or be converted into “outlets.”

Can Blockbuster catch up with Netflix and Redbox by aggressively eliminating physical locations? Or was that the one edge they had left?

Blockbuster more than doubles planned store closures to nearly 1,000 [LA Times] (Thanks, Brett!)
(Photo:Cuttriss)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.