Ever heard of a company called Blockbuster In this blog post, we will talk about the partnership that never happened between Netflix and Blockbuster. If you’re a millennial, you may recognize the name of this company or hear about it in a movie, but if you’re Gen Z, you will have no clue what this company is.
Why didn’t the younger generations hear about Blockbuster before?
Blockbuster was a company like Netflix in the 2000s in its beginnings, they were renting Videotapes and DVDs to individuals. So, what happened? Well, Blockbuster, unfortunately, missed a major business growth opportunity that was offered by Netflix.
It all started in the year 2000, when Netflix’s founder Reed Hastings and co-founder Marc Randolph held a meeting with the CFO of Blockbuster, John Antioco, to reach a partnership where Netflix proposed to run the online websites for both companies and let Blockbuster run the physical stores for both companies. Yes, Netflix has had a website since 1998.
The CFO of Blockbuster mocked them, saying that they were a small niche business. Later on, Netflix expanded, made more profits every year, and became the company it is today. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
Blockbuster’s inability to recognize the potential of online streaming ultimately led to their downfall, while Netflix’s willingness to embrace innovation and pivot their business model proved to be a winning strategy.
This case will remind you of Nokia’s case, they both have two common factors:
Ignoring innovation, and ignorance of what the market wants.
That’s why companies need to embrace a culture of innovation and experimentation, encouraging employees at all levels to think outside the box and try new ideas. In addition, they must foster collaboration and partnerships with other companies and industry experts to leverage their expertise and insights.
