Blockbuster to Close, Modify, More than 1,000 Stores
DALLAS, TEXAS
September 16, 2009
• Has not announced which will be shuttered
• Broadening its reach with fewer stores
Video rental store chain Blockbuster Inc. of Dallas, Texas, says it will close 810-960 stores nationwide by the end of next year. Other stores may be modified, bringing the total number of retail outlets affected to as many as 1,560, it says in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company operates about 79 retail stores in the Central Valley between Bakersfeld and Chico. It has not said which stores are targeted.
The company has about 3,750 company-operated stores and 606 franchised stores nationwide. The average store grosses $756,000 a year, the company says. By closing the stores, Blockbuster says it expected to save about $26 million. It says the traditional retail store is becoming less important to its overall growth. It sees a future with fewer large stores and more smaller urban outlets. But it also says its “highly profitable” videos-by-mail service is expected to see a growing subscriber base from the current 1.6 million. And it plans to expand its network of video vending machines from 497 now to 10,000 by mid-2010.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=13084
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