The elder ones among us may remember a time when you had to leave the house to see a movie, even if you were going to rent it at Blockbuster Video and watch it on your tiny 48″ TV. While the merciless VHS blight of 2013 killed off most of the remaining Blockbuster stores, a hearty handful remained, wandering the strip malls of America in search of sustenance. That’s why we’re sad to report that the Netflix diaspora now has four fewer among its ranks.
News reports out of El Paso rang the death knell for the city’s four Blockbuster stores, all of which shuttered after this weekend. They will — in the spirit of the season — experience a brief resurrection starting on April 2 for clearance sales.
Blockbuster had already seen thousands of stores close when satellite TV provider acquired the company in 2011. Hundreds of additional store closures followed, culminating in the Nov. 2013 decision to shutter all 300 remaining company-owned locations and kill off the Blockbuster disc-by-mail business.
However, Blockbuster franchisees who wanted to soldier on in the face of Netflix and numerous other newcomers, were free to do so, leaving around 50.
Border Entertainment LLC, which owns the El Paso stores, has been among those clutching on to the dream of those days when you’d wander the aisles unable to find anything to rent instead of scrolling through menus unable to find something worth watching.
“We opened our first El Paso stores back in 1992,” the owner of Border Entertainment tells ElPaso411.com. “It’s been a great run, but over the past few years more and more people have changed how they watch movies. This has caused a gradual decline in sales that has necessitated our decision to close the stores. We hope everyone will come visit us over the next few weeks so we can thank them for 24 wonderful years. It’s also the last chance to buy used movies and games from our very large inventories.”
Austin-based Border says it will continue to operate its Blockbuster stores elsewhere in Texas and in Alaska.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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