The Rise and Fall of Blockbuster

Blockbuster had nine thousand stores and dominated the movie rental industry. Then Netflix offered

a partnership in 2000 for fifty million dollars. Blockbuster laughed them out of the

room. The mistake wasn't just rejecting Netflix. It was refusing to see that

customer behavior was changing. People hated late fees. They wanted convenience.

Blockbuster kept charging penalties while Netflix eliminated them entirely. When streaming emerged, Blockbuster finally tried

to pivot but their debt from physical stores crushed them. They couldn't compete

with a company built for the digital age from day one. The lesson here

is simple. Your current success means nothing if you ignore how your customers