Andre Yoskowitz
16 Sep 2009 15:28
Blockbuster has announced it will be closing up to 1000 of its retail stores over the next 15 months in an effort to cut costs and "improve four-wall profitability".
The SEC filing states that the video rental company will be closing most unprofitable locations, which account for about 15 percent of the company's 7000 overall stores.
About 300 stores will be closed this year as "normal closures" and another 350 will be closed as "accelerated closures." Next year will see about 100 "normal closures" and another 150 "accelerated closures." The overall number will total 900-1000.
"All these stores are candidate stores," said Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove, via CNet. "Although we may in fact close that many stores, if we can renegotiate leases or remodel stores to make them more profitable, that number might go down."
At the same time, Blockbuster kiosks are expected to grow to 10,000 by the end of 2010, from their current 500.