Saw this one coming a few miles down the road – my local Blockbuster closed on the weekend.

Now before I go any further, allow me to state for the record that this will not be a post bemoaning the death of this corporate entity, nor its place in our moviewatching habits. For me, the fact that I frequented this particular franchise was a matter of convenience – it’s a seven minute walk from my front door.

What I am curious about, is how a behemoth like Blockbuster managed to drop the ball so badly when it came to the one service it was in business for. Who in their ivory tower didn’t notice that customers were increasingly turning to services that would save them the drive to a brick & mortar shop…and later allow them to directly stream content? Did eighteen different VP’s believe that a service like “Instant Watch” was just a fad??

In Canada there is another corporate giant that rents dvds, but I don’t see them shuttering the same way Blockbuster did. The reason is that they have something that Blockbuster never did- other options. See this particular giant is also a mobile, cable, and internet provider. So when customers stopped making the drive just to get movies, they just started giving some floor space to their other services. Why not, right? Pay your cable bill, buy an iPhone, and rent a few blu-rays all in one stop.

Want some baseball tickets? No problem – we own an MLB team too!

But back to Blockbuster…

I do realize that I sound like a fossil bemoaning the closing of a brick & mortar movie outlet closing up. The thing is that my particular location was actually staffed by a rather energetic crew. I didn’t know any of ’em by name or anything…but they knew their stuff, a handful were even TIFF enthusiasts, and were always rather courteous (a rarity in retail these days). So if anything, I feel bad that they’ll have to find other jobs.

The amusing thing in all of this is the fact that many of Toronto’s boutique “mom & pop” dvd rental shops are doing just fine through all of this. If anything, I’d wager they’re picking up new business. I’ll probably start frequenting one as it’s also a seven minute walk…just in the opposite direction. This of course is ironic since many of these types of stores were forced out of business many moons ago when monoliths like Blockbuster started popping up all over the place.

So long Blockbuster…can’t say I’ll miss you and all your crazily priced deals. But thanks for the cheap dvd’s in the closing sale!