Retail Competitors

The bombing economy is on everyone’s mind lately. Depending on whom you talk to will depend on what out look you will get. Some think this is really not too bad and that we will soon come out of it. Others say we are in for the long haul and that it will get much worse before it gets better. But, regardless of that we still have to shop. The goal is to get the best deal.
Chapter 1 discusses competition among retailers with the same format. The first two retailers I thought of were Blockbuster vs. the Red Box. If you have never heard of or tried the Red Box you are really missing out on a great deal.

Everyone knows what Blockbuster is. It is the Wal-Mart of video stores…or at least it used to be. When Blockbuster came to our town it quickly put the “Mom & Pop” video store out of business. Who could compete with their selection?

A few years ago I was traveling and I decided to stop at McDonald’s in Missouri for some coffee. There outside the front door in the freezing cold was this big red kiosk that dispensed video. I thought it was kind of cool and went about my business. Then it happened. A big Red Box Kiosk was inside Albertsons. I, like many others, just walked past it with curiosity but did not go any farther. Eventually I decided to try it out. Following prompts on the touch screen I chose between about 100 DVDs, which includes all the new releases.. I swiped my card and for $1.08 a day I had my movie. When I am done with it I turn it back into any Red Box! Can life get much simpler than that? Within a few months everyone it seemed decided to try it. The lines grew with each passing week. So to keep up with the demand Wal-Mart got one. Then Albertsons got another one. So of course Wal-Mart had to get one more. Now even Walgreens is getting in on the action with on outside their doors. I see more people at the Red Box than at Blockbusters now. You do have to go to Blockbuster for games but I am sure that is not far behind for Red Box. In 2007 Red Box surpassed Blockbuster in the number of locations in the U.S. Who would have thought a movie kiosk with 50-200 dvds to select from could pass up the mega store that is Blockbuster?