Last surviving Blockbuster video stores to shut down
Nov 6, 2013, 2:23 PM | Updated: 3:45 pm
It’s surprising to some there are any Blockbuster video stores left. But there won’t be soon after parent company DISH Network announced Wednesday it would close the company’s remaining U.S. stores by early January.
The company will also end its Blockbuster By Mail service in mid-December.
A search of the Blockbuster website shows company stores still operating in the Puget Sound area include locations in Edmonds, Lake Stevens, Kent, Tacoma and Belfair.
A staff member at the Edmonds store answered the phone “Blockbuster, we’re liquidating,” Wednesday afternoon, but referred all questions to the corporate office. The company has not responded.
DISH says there will be about 50 U.S. stores operated by franchises not affected by the announcement. But the company says it is also closing all its U.S. distribution centers.
The pioneer of the video rental business has fallen on hard times in recent years, despite efforts to compete with Netflix and other rivals by offering movies by mail and digital distribution.
The company says it will continue to offer streaming and on-demand video services.
“Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings,” said DISH President and CEO Joseph P. Clayton in a statement.
Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September 2010, according to Bloomberg. DISH purchased the company for $320 million the following year. At one point Blockbuster had a market value of $5 billion.
