I worked at Blockbuster for many years. Corporate greed killed Blockbuster. Viacom looked at Blockbuster only in one way which was to milk the cash cow as long as they could. It was not always that way. When I started and we were an independent franchisee, we were 100% focused on customer service. Free balloons to kids, plenty of help with knowledgeable staff to help you find videos in a well organized and clean store. Happy check out people. Then when Viacom took over, kids had to pay for balloon. Staff cost too much money so we had to cut it. Stores because cluttered and dirty. Staff was no longer happy because you had two people doing five peoples' jobs. And late fees were almost never waived because that was giving up money to the cow.
So if you make the experience miserable and soak people with late fees, what do you think is going to happen? In typical corporate fashion, the stupid run for cover. They blamed changing technology for the lose of business. But it was their own incompetence to stay focused on business fundamentals. Blockbuster in the early days got it. It was not about renting videos. It was the experience. Why do people go to Disney when there is a Six Flags near by? Viacom killed the experience. Then the business died.
oi fanboy!! Lol
Yes it would be dangerous for one company to be the sole supplier. But I'm not going to feel sorry for an industry that ensures only the very very successful actually make near the money they could.
As for wether Apple having the "virtue" maybe now but as the saying goes "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely ".
Here's an excellent article that discusses the implications and likelihood of either Amazon or Hachette winning, both in the short and long term. Hint: consumers are likely screwed either way.
With regards to Apple, I don't think it's fair to judge them at the same level as an Amazon, Google or Microsoft because they've been around longer than the others yet have managed to preserve their principles of simple elegant design and looking out for their end users, despite frequent urging from analysts to do otherwise. Plus, I don't see apple as ever having total control over a mainstream product market because those markets will always be dominated (in terms of market share) by lower priced products, and Apple will never want to compete at the low end of a market
Ah, so it was Amazon's fault that other booksellers never bothered to adapt their business practices to a new way of doing business. Or ensuring their businesses were efficient and took in more money than they paid out in a competitive market (i.e. Borders).
Ah, so it was Amazon's fault that other booksellers never bothered to adapt their business practices to a new way of doing business. Or ensuring their businesses were efficient and took in more money than they paid out in a competitive market (i.e. Borders).
Thank you for clarifying.
The publishers also handed over control of their destiny to Amazon.
Comments
Here's an excellent article that discusses the implications and likelihood of either Amazon or Hachette winning, both in the short and long term. Hint: consumers are likely screwed either way.
https://www.eviscerati.org/articles/2014/08/Amazon-v-Hatchette-Everyone-Wrong-Me
With regards to Apple, I don't think it's fair to judge them at the same level as an Amazon, Google or Microsoft because they've been around longer than the others yet have managed to preserve their principles of simple elegant design and looking out for their end users, despite frequent urging from analysts to do otherwise. Plus, I don't see apple as ever having total control over a mainstream product market because those markets will always be dominated (in terms of market share) by lower priced products, and Apple will never want to compete at the low end of a market
Ah, so it was Amazon's fault that other booksellers never bothered to adapt their business practices to a new way of doing business. Or ensuring their businesses were efficient and took in more money than they paid out in a competitive market (i.e. Borders).
Thank you for clarifying.
The publishers also handed over control of their destiny to Amazon.