It’s not new. Nor will it ever be. Failing to change with the times. Like the blacksmith who chose not to work on automotive wheels…

We have Redbox everywhere these days. I can go to the grocery store, pharmacy, McDs and WalMart and rent or return (4 days late if you’re like us) a movie. I found it interesting to see the first Redbox machine at McDs a couple of years ago. Novel concept. It will never catch on. I should have purchased stock.

I dropped by the local QT the other day and noticed something interesting… A “Redbox like” machine with Blockbuster on the marquee. Wow. A little late to the game, I’d say. Especially since I read an article shortly after Redbox came out, interviewing the CEO of Redox who admitted that the video vending machine has a limited lifespan. He acknowledged that downloads are the future but he was riding the vending phase as long as he could.

Wow.

Blockbuster had filed for bankruptcy protection and then was bought out.

I wonder how the conversations went around the board room a few years ago as Blockbuster execs were discussing the future of the rental business. I imagine they thought no one could/would figure out a cost-effective and quality downloadable/streaming solution. And no one would dare break the $3/nite barrier. They owned the market. They honestly did. They just didn’t realize the market would completely change.

Once you start trying to play “catch up” with the competition, you’re dead.

SHARE IT: