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Ask Slashdot: How To Make a DVD-Rental Store More Relevant?
smi.james.th writes "Here on Slashdot, the concept that older models of business need to be updated to keep with the times is often mentioned. A friend of mine owns a DVD rental store, and he often listens to potential customers walk out, saying that they'd rather download the movie, and not because his prices are unreasonable. With the local telco on a project to boost internet speeds, my friend feels as though the end is near for his livelihood. So, Slashdotters, I put it to you: What can a DVD store owner do to make his store more relevant? What services would you pay for at a DVD store?"
My friend manufacturers and sells horse whips. With this trend towards horseless carriages he doesn't seem to sell as many as he used to. Does anybody have any ideas on how he can increase his business?
The only possible way to survive is to develop a niche. Streaming services are usually pretty good for recent movies, but a lot of back catalogue stuff is hard to find. Specialize in the stuff that's out of print, rare, etc. But really, I'm hard-pressed to see how that business model would be sustainable as a primary income source in most communities. There simply isn't enough demand for the content, especially given the huge amount of material available through Netflix's mail catalogue.
Shutting down a business may be a violation of the rules. What collective bargaining agreements do his employees operate under? And if not, what the fuck? What kind of nutbags start a job without the protection of a collective bargaining agreement?
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
All the video rental shops are closed, taking the video game rentals with them. I miss being able to rent a game instead of outright buying it. May not be a big enough market though.
Buying and reselling used games that don't cost as much as their brand new counterparts is something that people are sorely in need of. Maybe credits for game rentals with a trade-in instead of cash?
Even if you don't charge much less, charging $20-25 for a used game opposed to the $40-50 EB and Gamestop charge might drive some business away from them and towards your friend.
Compute how much these new internet business models actually cost you in the long term. Send them a bill for potential losses.
MPAA and RIAA do it all the time!
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Come up with creative-funny gift ideas (Christopher Walkin Box set, Chuck Norris Box set),Sell retro computer games(similar shelving), Lend the book that goes with the movie, gather other good info with the movie, Have amazing memorabilia that will attract people into the store (celebrity death masks aren't always expensive), Like an art space, do other things to attract people there: small indie-video screenings, movie discussions, director talks. Put on a local TV show discussing movies coming out on DVD.
If your friend is running a successful business, then he's got a particularly useful and uncommon skill.
Some 80% of all first businesses fail, but only 20% of second businesses fail. That's because after the first business, you learn from your mistakes. Your friend has the skills and experience needed to start a new business - and that's what he should do.
So, what's trending on the map right now? What brick-and-mortar establishments are on the rise?
How about setting up a hackerspace? These seem to be popping up everywhere, and unlike McDonalds, there's still room for more.
While running the 'space, keep an eye out for things that might be products. With a hackerspace available it's easy to "test the waters" for a new tech product: you have access to people with skills for design, construction, [website] sales, and so on.
What they don't have is someone who can steer the ship, someone who has experience in things like incorporating, taxes, management, planning, accounting, and so on.
Consider starting a hackerspace. I hear that they can be successful and lots of fun.
I actually might be qualified to answer this since my business partner and I are in this very scenario and we have already made adjustments that have had a real positive impact.
My partner's dvd rental store has been in business and at the same location for over 16 years. During that time, Blockbuster gave it a run for TEN years directly across the street, but closed down 2 years ago. He began supplementing the business by becoming a wireless dealer and bill payment station. Here in Houston, multipurpose shops are EVERYWHERE and are VITAL in small, mostly Hispanic communities, so in order to compete, your store must offer all or at least some of the following: Phone service, phone cards (for international calling), bill payment such as local utilities and cable, Western Union, MoneyGram, money orders, copies, fax service, etc...
We recently began offering computer repairs and upgrades in addition to the cell phone repairs and he has quite a bit of retail space dedicated to not only popcorn, candy and soda, but even chips, sweets, fortune cookies, designer fragrances, and tons of accessories.
This may seem crazy to a lot of readers here, and it's certainly a lot to juggle for a store owner, but the truth is, he has been a staple in the community for so long that our customers keep finding reasons to come in. Sure, they still rent dvds, but they really come for the multitude oi other helpful services we offer.
What kind of nutbags start a job without the protection of a collective bargaining agreement?
How about that, there is such a thing as a stupid question.
Answer #1: Any professional with any ambition at all. Collective bargaining agreements are a noose around the neck of anybody with the ambition to better themselves.
Answer #2: Any unskilled employee who'd like to have a paycheck if they live in a right to work state where "at will" employment predominates. Which unsurprisingly happens to be the states with the lowest unemployment rates right now.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
Slashdot isn't the best place to ask because most of us have bought into digital distribution. We are unlikely to be the video store's target audience so we aren't the best people to ask.
Your friend also has some challenges because copyright laws limit his options. A lot of things that could be done would be illegal or require a lot of paperwork because it would be considered a public showing (e.g. previews, a showing room for private events).
Yet they may be able to transition their business if they are into film. This could be tied to tangible products or people oriented. They could try to sell the hardware to show movies, provide a forum to discuss them, or even provide a hub for people who want to produce independent films.
There are a lot of other ways to adapt. The key though is to talk to the people who matter: the customers who would actually use the service.
- wide selection of movies and TV shows, stuff you won't find elsewhere or downloadable via torrents, like lesser known foreign and independent movies, the place is huge.
- enough copies of popular movies so you can almost always get what you went there for
- blu-ray, DVD, VHS (!), Xbox 360, Wii, etc., whatever you and your family needs, it's there
- two for one days on slower nights of the week and other coupons for the past decade brings plenty of people into the outlet
- extras are sold off at a good price when they're no longer rented
I'm happy to stipulate that any executive who accepts a pay raise the same year their workers get a cut is a scumbag. But ultimately it was union negotiators who allowed the company to go under. Maybe they thought having no job is better than a having a shitty job working for assholes, and that killing off a company that can't or won't take care of its employees is a message worth sending. If so I'd actually respect that, but I haven't seen that's how this is being reported.
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
You mean how Hostess tripled their CEO's pay and raised other exec's salaries, while cutting worker's pay and benefits?
Stop drinking the far right's Kool Aid. It's not unions that are killing companies like Hostess, it's vulture capitalists.
Perhaps you should stop drinking your own Kool Aid. The Baker's Union was told that if they continued to strike the company would fail. Not "we don't want to pay you more" but "the company will close and everyone will be out of work". Their response, even after the Teamsters agreed, was "up yours". Shockingly, the company closed. The Baker's Union was greedy and assumed the owners were lying to them. They weren't. End of Story.
The CEO's pay had exactly nothing to do with the demise of the company and is nothing but a red herring.
I was raised on the command line, bitch
"Nemo me impune lacesset"
"a customer list, knowledge of movies and location" sounds like a perfect mixture of what you need.
A lot of suggestions on here are emphasizing the physical connection and shared experience, but I'd shy away from the "become the NPR book club experience for indie movies" direction. People still go to movie theatres after all, and not just the art-house ones. Keep your focus on the mainstream local customer market.
My thoughts?
1) Make it very easy to browse. Apple spent a b unch of money working on "Album Cover" browse mode, and Netflix tries to micro-genre target for you .. try to come up with a happy medium in physicality.
2) Emphasize the human connection -- events, specials, etc. I don't know what the location is like, but if there's a restaurant next door, come up with a dinner-and-a-movie cross promotion with them.
3) A web-browsable catalog is nice, but you know what's faster than tapping in a name on your PS3 Netflix controller? Calling a number (assuming you're staffing your phones). Make it super easy to reach a live person, preferably one who might know you by name when you walk in. Hire movie nerds just like Gamestop hires game nerds.
4) Use location cell services (Foursquare, Google Local or whatever they call it) heavily... Specials, deals, mayorships, etc...
5) As someone else said... if you can't beat em, join em. Get high speed internet and wireless (protected, with daily changing keys that are on the receipt or something) and set up some areas for people to deal with streaming services. Maybe get a Red Box and stick it *inside* your store -- I have no idea on pricing, but see if you can set the price for it somewhere above the default.
6) Upsell with food/drinks just like Blockbuster did.
7) Don't try to undercut yourself out of business by lowering price, but offer meaningful loyalty rewards. It's more important to *keep customers coming back* than to make high profits off each one.
Good luck!
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,