還記得熟悉的廣告台詞「百視達,樂到家。這次租不到,下次免費」嗎?這個曾經在全球有超過6萬名員工和9千家的DVD出租商店,如今全球只剩一家,位在美國的俄勒岡州本德市。
百視達成立於1985年,總部位於美國科羅拉多州,最初是一家家庭影視娛樂供應商,提供DVD、VHS、藍光、錄像遊戲零售和租借,在2004年發展到高峰,不過,隨著數位化的發展,實體出租商店逐漸倒閉,百視達不敵競爭對手Netflix和Redbox,於2010年9月破產。
#Repost @blockbusterbend • • • • • • Our Story In 2010, Blockbuster Corporate filed for bankruptcy. The once giant video store chain had fallen from over 9094 stores in 2004 to a mere 1700 struggling corporate locations. By April 2011 they were being auctioned off and the winning bid of 320 million dollars went to Dish Network, a satellite TV provider. Slowly the new operators began closing corporate owned stores and in January 2014 the final Blockbuster Corporate location closed. This left only a few franchise locations around the world and at the end of March 2019 only 1 store remained, our store in Bend Oregon. Ken & Debbie Tisher along with their two teenagers (Marc and Rory) moved to Bend in September 1990. The following December they opened the very first Pacific Video Store on the south end of Bend. Two years later they opened the second of what was later to become 3 Central Oregon locations, here at 211 NE Revere. As small business owners the Tisher’s recognized they had the opportunity to bring the movie experience to our family homes. By offering the newest movie titles and our favorite classics on VHS they were able to give the Bend community an inexpensive alternative to going out to the theater. After successfully operating their locally owned video stores for 10 years, the Tisher’s, along with their partners, Debbie’s parents, Larry and Berniece Doan made the decision to become a Blockbuster Franchise in June of 2000. This was the beginning of our Blockbuster Story. How a small business, thru stubborn determination and a bit of pure luck, has been able to operate in the chaos of an ever changing home video world. All proceeds from our product sales go directly to support our store and help us stay open. The majority of our products are also made right here in Bend. We thank you for your support! -General Manager, Sandi Harding 📸: @apollodoesnotfollow #blockbustervideo #bend #lastblockbuster #blockbuster #video #dvd #ourstory #thankyou
The Last Blockbuster(@lastblockbustermovie)分享的貼文 於 張貼
如今,全球只剩一間百視達,也就是奧勒岡州的Bend分店,儘管環境艱困,店長哈丁Sandi Harding仍堅持營運:「對個人而言,純粹就是固執。我們不想讓步」, 當地人也都表示,早已和這間店建立了深厚情感,不希望它關閉。
究竟這間店是如何在時代浪潮下站穩腳步不受淘汰呢?哈丁透露:「節省成本,以及和時代有所連結」。她一共請了4位全職與8位兼職員工,由兒子Ryan擔任店經理,每人身兼多職,為最後的百視達所努力。
受限預算,店內的電腦系統必須用磁碟片重啟,DVD、藍光包裝的電影盒與會員卡都是員工自製,並積極發行新片,像是哈丁曾去主動接洽《復仇者聯盟:終局之戰》的發行,「你們很難想像我們有辛苦,每個員工都要獨自完成很多工作」。哈丁也透露這間店的優勢:「你可以去其他出租店找到最新的影片,但你找不到早期的影片,就算是 Netflix 和 Amazon 也不是所有的影片都有」。
紀錄片製作人卡姆曾這麼形容百視達:「在許多荒涼的城裡,百視達是唯一營業到晚上9點的商店,有些甚至會營業到凌晨12點,所以很多小孩會跑來這裡看電影,這裡是他們愛上電影的地方。」百視達不只是一間商店,更成為情感連結的所在地。
令人驚喜的是,這一間全球最後的百視達,還吸引了電影前來取景拍攝!《驚奇隊長》中有一幕女主角墜落地球,掉進的地方就是這間「百視達」,知名主持人艾倫‧狄珍妮也曾到這拍攝節目,此外,還有全球各地粉絲會慕名而來拍照打卡,儼然成為當地最觀光熱門景點。
延伸閱讀:
機票也有「吃到飽」?他花760萬買「頭等艙終生票」 20年後航空公司後悔了
最幽默喪禮!癌逝老兵棺材突傳來「放我出去」 親友瞬間破涕為笑
喜歡這篇文章嗎?
快來媒體小農灌溉心中好新聞吧!