Blockbuster Industry and Financial Health Essay
Blockbuster is one of the leading companies operating in the rental and retail movie and game entertainment. In spite of the economic recession and considerable deterioration in the development of the industry, Blockbuster still demonstrates positive trends in its business development. At the same time, the company operates internationally and attempts to expand its business and markets worldwide that opens larger and better opportunities for the steady and ongoing growth of the company. On the other hand, the company should come prepared to the consistent deterioration of the economic environment caused by the economic recession and to develop new, effective strategies of the further business development.
On analyzing the current position of Blockbuster in the industry, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the company holds one of the leading positions in the market. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the company operates internationally, although its major, target market is still the US market where rental and retail movie and game entertainment is a well-developed industry. In actuality, the company has faced certain deterioration in its marketing performance, especially in recent years. The deterioration of the marketing performance of Blockbuster was determined by the deterioration of the economic environment and the economic recession. In fact, the economic recession has had a considerable impact on the national economy of the US as well as the entire world. Naturally, in such a situation, the rental and retail movie and game industry could not remain unaffected by the economic recession. One of the major effects of the recent economic recession on the industry has been the considerable drop in the buying power of customers. In this regard, Blockbuster has suffered certain drop in its sale rates. The annual report of the company reveals the fact that the company has deteriorated its financial performance compared to previous years. For instance, the drop of revenues and profits of the company has occurred but the drop has been insignificant. In such a context, it is necessary to take into consideration the extensive experience of Blockbuster and its operations in the US and international markets. What is meant here is the fact that the company has a considerable financial potential and, what is even more important, the company has a popular and renowned brands. Blockbuster’s brand is renowned in the US as well as in many other countries of the world. Naturally, the recognition of the brand of the company contributes to the strengthening of its position in the market as well as to the increase of the marketing value of the company. In such a way, the company can get the full advantage of its brand and its popularity in the market.
On the other hand, the company has a well-developed network, whereas, today, the company focuses on the development of its online services and shipping of its products not only nationwide but also internationally. In such a way, the company attempts to enter new segments of the market and, according to its annual report, the company has already reached a tremendous success in the regard because a considerable share of sales and transactions occurred online and the number of customers using products and services of the company online grows fast.
Naturally, in such a situation, the company cannot remain indifferent to the development of new technologies and their introduction. The focus on innovations has helped the company to take the better position in the market and to smooth the negative effects of the recent economic recession on its marketing performance. In this regard, the analysis of the financial performance of the company within the last five years reveals the fact that the company has grown steadily until 2008, when the economic recession has stricken but, today, the company has already started to recover after the economic recession.
In this respect, it is possible to refer to the performance of its major rivals and to compared the financial and marketing performance of Blockbuster to that of its major rivals, such as Netflix and Redbox. In actuality, the major rivals of Blockbuster have deteriorated their financial and marketing performance. Netflix has suffered a less significant downturn in its business development compared to Redbox and it was similar to the downturn Blockbuster has suffered recently. At the same time, the current competitive position of Blockbuster is comparable to that of its major rivals. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the acquisition of Blockbuster by Dish Network played the crucial role in the maintenance of the position of the company in the industry. Otherwise, the downturn of Blockbuster could be disastrous.
Therefore, the company still holds a strong position in the industry and has a positive marketing and financial performance. In this regard, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the marketing and financial performance of Blockbuster depends not only on its business strategies and plans but also on the current economic environment. The recent economic recession has had a negative impact on the financial performance of the company because the buying power of customers has dropped. Nevertheless, Blockbuster keeps expanding its markets internationally and the company keeps growing.