Blockbuster Video store on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor to close
Blockbuster will close its video store in Traver Village, a manager confirmed Thursday evening.
The store's liquidation sale starts at 10 a.m. Friday.
Photo courtesy of Blockbuster Inc.
The store is at the prominent endcap of the northside Ann Arbor retail center, which is anchored by Kroger, at Plymouth and Nixon Roads.
Landlord First Martin Corp. says the store is expected to stay open until April 10.
Blockbuster has been in bankruptcy, raising the question over which stores would survive. The latest news coming from the company came this week when the courts approved its $290 million sale to a group of its debtholders.
The bankruptcy - a Chapter 11 filing for reorganization - could still be converted to Chapter 7 and the chain liquidated at the request of the new group of buyers, according to national reports.
The chain has been grappling with industry downsizing for years as digital media consumed more of the video market. Hollywood Video closed its Ann Arbor stores in 2010, and by summer Blockbuster was promising to close many of its stores.
At the time, it operated 3,525 stores across the U.S. The latest plans call for about 600 stores to close by Feb. 28.
Real estate sources have said the local Blockbuster stores - including locations on South Main in Ann Arbor. Ellsworth Road in Ypsilanti Township and Michigan Avenue in Saline - have been solid performers.
The average store size is about 5,000 square feet, according to industry data.
Comments
Huron 74
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 1:38 a.m.
First of all, don't bother going to their "close-out sale". Used movies are $9.95. You can get them cheaper at the Blockbuster in Saline (that is still open), among other places. So to "Yeah Buddy" you're right, their corporate governice is completely, utterly absent. Probably why they have to close stores.
Hmm
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 4:37 p.m.
Blockbuster and other brick and mortar movie rental stores provide the service of having older and harder to find dvd's available for those times when you want to watch a movie at the spur of the moment and don't have the time to wait for it to get shipped in the mail two days later. On demand is good for newer movie releases, but the selection of titles can be very limited for things that were made in the 70's 80's and 90's.
mun
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:12 p.m.
With Netflix, Hulu, and on-demand from cable & satellite providers, Blockbuster is obsolete. Nevertheless, I feel bad for the employees of the Plymouth Road store.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 1:58 p.m.
Hard to compete with all the other options these days. I was one of those "old farts" who didn't think Netflix made sense...till my daughters bought me a years subscription. I can set up my viewing schedule on the Internet, I put my just watched Video in the mail on Monday and get the next one on Wednesday. That is hard to compete with, not to mention watching instantly through a game box.
robert
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 6:55 a.m.
I am so glad that someone was on the beat and found a lead on this story. This is truly remarkable reporting and it wouldn't surprise me if it received the Pulitzer. This event has blind-sided myself and the rest of the community and no one expected something like this would happen. This is almost tragic. I am still reeling from this news and can't believe what I am reading. I must search out more information on this to see if this is really true. Please tell me this is "War of the World's" all over again.
robert
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.
Some headlines are the complete story in of themselves. Some things are inevitable and the vast majority of the public knows this and they don't want to be told over and over and over and over. So is reporting on events that have relevance to .02% of the population serving our community when maybe we should be reporting more on events relating to inventions, ideas, theories, solutions, the future, beauty, love, triumphs, and hope. These are the things we all need. Rehashing an old tired story, to fill space because it's a story, doesn't. Anything can be made a story. Making it worthy to take up our community board at Ann Arbor.com needs to always be considered.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:58 p.m.
Not sure why all the hostility. Yes, this is news. Is it as big a deal as say: How to finish hardwood floors Local dog wins 'Best Mutt in Show' contest on ABC's 'The View' The Blackbird Theatre's not horsing around with intense, rewarding 'Equus' Images from Neutral Zone's Vintage Hollywood Affair 2 ??? I donno, but I am glad it was reported, as I am more affected by this than the stories listed above. You can always just not read it, as I chose not to read the articles above.
WhyCan'tWeBeFriends
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 6:33 a.m.
I don't think the leadership saw the new thing coming. We were monthly Blockbuster subscribers but dropped that when we picked up both Netflix and Hulu Plus for about half the price per month. Didn't have to drive for a movie, or return it, and with a direct streaming device (we bought a new DVD player but it is already paid for in savings) we are way ahead. I heard today that Amazon has a new feature but inferior to Netflix and Hulu Plus. Blockbuster might catch up, but they better be really quick about it. I do miss interacting with staff who knew the movies, and me. I went to the A2-Saline/Main Street branch location. Excellent, but budget is budget, and mine shrank considerably in the last couple of years - no cable, no satellite, no live TV.
Yeah buddy
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 1:59 a.m.
We went there to rent a movie last week and they had a hiring sign up. I don't know if it was a case of corporate not communicating with the stores, or just a move to try and inspire confidence. I just hope they didn't actually hire anyone new.
Paula Gardner
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 1:51 a.m.
I just added this to the story: Landlord First Martin Corp. says the store is expected to stay open until April 10.
Bones
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 1:43 a.m.
I hate to see any of the video stores close. I do not care for net flix or any of that crap. I prefer to go to a store to get my movies.
Sallyxyz
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 1:15 a.m.
Sad to see yet another store closing in A2, on the heels of the Borders store in Arborland. The employees will suffer and it will leave a hole in a good shopping center.
Paula Gardner
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:26 a.m.
Fix made. Thank you!
MjC
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:26 a.m.
I guess we all knew this day was coming. I'm sad for all the employees...
amazonwarrior
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:23 a.m.
Sentence should read: "No other information [about] the store closing was available."
FCBarcelona1899
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:02 a.m.
That's too bad.