End of An Era: Blockbuster to File for Bankruptcy

According to the WSJ; and other credible news sources, Blockbuster is currently preparing to enter a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. This comes after months of speculation about their inability to compete with rival substitute products such as Netflix and Redbox.

Instead of changing their business model and looking for ways to innovate, Blockbuster finds themselves behind in an industry that has passed them by. Innovation is such a key to winning in a competitive marketplace. Companies should give employees the power to come up with ideas for continuous improvement; Google and Toyota are both examples of amazing companies who use employees to foster innovation.

It is also important to constantly assess your industry using tools like Porters Five Force analysis. If Blockbuster had assessed their industry semi-annually or yearly maybe they would have came up with the Redbox model first; as opposed to copying the model once they recognized the threat.

Although Chapter 11 is not the end-all for some companies, MOST never recover! I'll be watching to see how this situation turns out!

XOXO