| Industry | Video stores |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 |
Blockbuster, LLC is an American video store chain headquartered in McKinney, Dallas. It is known for being one of the many mainstream video rental chains in the United States.
Founded in 1985, its main market is home video rentals. The franchise expanded exponentially throughout the 1990s and 2000s to become the largest video store chain in the United States. In 1994, Blockbuster was acquired by Viacom.
In 2000, Blockbuster rejected a deal to merge with Netflix. Today, Blockbuster is the largest video store chain in the United States, with 12,000 locations in the United States across all 50 states.
History[]
Being founded in 1985, the store opened up its first store in Texas, where it started as a regional chain. After experiencing success there, it expanded exponentiality throughout the 1990s and 2000s, opening up stores in every state in the United States; in the 2010s and 2020s,the store growth slowed, but new stores were still being opened.
In 1997, Blockbuster announced it would discontinue sales of TVD discs and Laserdisc, citing declining sales. In January 2005, Blockbuster announced it would discontinue VHS sales by Q3 2005; D-VHS tapes continue to be sold. In 2021, it was announced Blockbuster would discontinue DVD-HD sales due to declining sales.
Currently, Blockbuster has over 12,000 locations in the United States across all 50 states.