Built to Fail: The Inside Story of Blockbuster's Inevitable Bust

Myself and friends a book club

This is an excellent and interesting book about a subject many of us can find fascinating. My only complaint is the author often repeats the same reasons why Blockbuster failed: Netflix, Redbox, lack of inventory, and no longer charging late fees. He must mention the same thing two dozen time! But I still recommend the book.

Interesting but a bit repetitive. Exposed the faults behind an iconic business with an undertone of disdain and personal animosity. Bottom line- i would recommend.

A very enlightening, detailed and interesting Account of why Blockbuster failed. Like most others, I assumed Netflix put them out of business. But over many years, executives made numerous poor decisions. Some of the franchise owners did not make the same mistakes. The arrogant blockbuster executives, including four CEOs Ignored the people in the trenches. This is what happens when people at the top get delusional and think they know everything. Also, it is appalling how they did not build or buy modern IT Systems To leverage tbe valuable data on The customer purchases and preferences

Great read Alan especially for those that don’t know the story. I spent 30 years in the video industry, starting my career in retail and ending it working in distribution handling Blockbuster Corp stores. Those “in the trenches” knew what created its demise, what watched it and struggled with it daily handling them from the inside. Thanks for taking the time to document. I think this is a very important read for those of entrepreneur nature or those who are just plain curious about the story of Blockbuster and what happened to them. Adding one more element to this review, I remember my team and co workers working with you at VPD, how they always had such positive things to say about you, and yours team. What I didn’t know is how many times you offered to sit down and share your success with the many “powers” at Blockbuster. What a shame they couldn’t, proven your success. I give you much credit for continuing to try. Perhaps a very different world it would be. When I started in the video business in 1986, I was told the video business would end in 1999. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. I ended my video career at the end of 2015 when VPD decided to exit the video business. I wanted to end at the height of a great organization. Which is exactly what you did Alan. If you could be a fly on the wall, I guarantee your employees have nothing but respect for you. As well as the studio execs. Best

Good background on Blockbuster and their failure. It did come off as one sided as the author was a franchisee who lost his businesses due to corporate's various mis steps. What never really came up in the book was the plan to transition to digital delivery of movies and games and how franchisees would still be able to keep their stores open. The author acted like his brick and mortar stores would have continued to thrive had Blockbuster been ready to adapt to changing technology. Blockbuster could have introduced Redbox like kiosks then transitioned to digital movies which would have killed his brick and mortar franchises anyway. The book was interesting but it seemed like there was some sour grapes in the pages too. I would have like to hear how the author planned to keep his stores open in 2021.

I'm glad the Dallas Morning News mentioned this book. It does provide great insight into why Blockbuster failed and how failed executives can send a company down the dumper while leaving with plenty of money for a comfortable retirement. The story about the trip on a corporate jet is really telling. That said, a journalist would have done a better job of fleshing out the thinking of those whose failed leadership tanked the company. The author spends a bit too much time patting himself on the back for being the smartest guy in the room and repeats his themes over and over and over again. Every author needs a good editor.

Worth a read. Interesting adventure into corporate greed and hubris.

I don’t think this book deserves five stars… it deserves much more…It’s amazing how the book shows us the real facts and reasons why Blockbuster bankruptcy. It’s quite easy to justify it by Netflix’s new market approach but you can see here that the problem started too long before Netflix. This is about mismanagement, stubbornness, and lack of focus… or, better saying, focus on wrong objectives. The history of many companies shows us similar behavior and, many of them, no longer exist.Arrogance, megalomania, and self-indulgence lead companies and (why not) people to make mistakes and insist on them. Sad but true. The final days… or years of Blockbuster shows us this. A must-read book.Five stars for that.Other five stars for Alan Payne. What great writing! It’s amazing to see how well written the book is. It gives all the information you need to understand not sticking in too many details. All the books should be this way. It’s a pleasant reading and, “chiche” aside, it’s hard to put the book down.Just for comparison. Recently I’ve read the (also very good) Brad Stone’s Amazon Unbound. Great book but too much detailed… and, for real, many of them unnecessary. It’s a great book, I was amazed to know more about Amazon, but the reading wasn’t good as Payne’s book.So, Alan Payne deserves additional five stars for the book!Also, take a good look on the books he mentions on his text. Great selection for sure.Great book!

I read the book, which told me a lot about Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation and its various legal name changes. It was very well-written.My very first job was with Blockbuster Canada Co. in 2005 until 2007. Blockbuster Canada Co. seemed to be doing very well and would not start to close any stores until 2010, as far as I know. However, I didn't know they had franchised stores, as I was under the impression that all Canadian stores were corporate stores.In 2005, they had brought the "No Late Fees" program to Canadian stores. While people enjoyed it, the stores did have the same problems with inventory (though I'm not sure if it was to the same extent). Some dedicated customers would change their routine and come in during the middle of the week instead of Friday nights as a result. Later on, Blockbuster Canada would introduce a program to encourage people to bring their movies back earlier: they would receive a $1 credit towards their account. This helped to a small extent.After I stopped working for Blockbuster Canada, I'd still drop by once a week for the next four years. They ran a few promotions that I would take advantage of.The Blockbuster Rewards program was revamped to have a different special each day of the week. With their rewards program, five paid rentals got you a free rental of your choice. On Wednesdays, each paid rental counted as two. I loved this earlierIn 2009, the company actually removed the "No Late Fees" program from game rentals and began charging $1 for each extra day a customer had it beyond the due date. This didn't bother me much, as I wasn't really a gamer.I remember a time when new releases were all the same price, but with different rental periods. New releases were available for seven nights while "hot new releases" were available for a period of two nights. In 2009, this was revamped so that the customer could choose whether they wanted the movie for two nights or seven nights. I often opted for the 2-night rental, which was $3.99 plus $1 for each extra day. For $5.99, the "No Late Fees" program was in effect. I liked this because it kept more movies on the shelves rather than at the homes of customers.After Blockbuster Inc.'s assets were sold to DISH, Blockbuster Canada went into receivership as you noted. The court documents say that DISH did intend to buy Blockbuster Canada but changed their minds at the last minute, which annoyed me. They also sent letters to Blockbuster Canada demanding that they stop using the Blockbuster name, logo, trademark, etc.You mentioned that many profitable Blockbuster stores in Canada are profitable, and this is the part that many don't believe.It might be 2021, but I still have arguments about Blockbuster Canada with a lot of people. Your book will further help me with my arguments, should they arise again.I enjoyed reading every part of the book.

I am a former franchisee (1989 - 1997). It is refreshing to finally find an accurate accounting of the Blockbuster story. Great insight from a highly experienced retailer and well respected franchise operator - Alan gets it. Required reading for any case study on the real story and how great companies fail.