Hundreds sign petition to save Gleadless Blockbuster

Date: 29/01/2013. Story submitted by: Ben Hastie

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Over 500 people have signed a petition to protest the imminent closure of the Gleadless Townend Blockbuster.

“Blockbuster is good for the other businesses in the area,” explained Chris Jones, owner of nearby Kippy’s Gift Emporium.

“People buy a takeaway or a bottle of wine with a film, and the kids come in here to buy sweets when they rent computer games.

“It’s quite a big unit and we’re worried that no one else will come in and take it on. An empty store would be a real blot on the area.

“It’s been there for a long time and is a well-used and well-liked part of the community. We don’t want to see it go."

The introduction of home video in the early 1980s revolutionised film production, distribution and consumption.

Blockbuster UK opened its first store in South London back in 1989, and at its peak employed over 60,000 people in 9,000 stores world-wide.

In recent years Blockbuster has faced increasing competition from the online shopping and streaming markets, closing over 100 stores nationwide in the last few years after parent company Blockbuster US was declared bankrupt in 2010.

Despite belated attempts to introduce its own virtual and mail-order services Blockbuster UK officially entered administration on Wednesday, January 16.

David Yates, of Lister Avenue said: “There’s been a video shop here for 25 years.

“When I was a kid my mum and dad would take me and my sister to rent a film every Friday after school, which was always a real treat.

“I shop online occasionally but have never downloaded a film, and have always made an attempt to come down and pick one up in person. The staff are all friendly, local lads and I always stop by for a chat.

“What’s interesting is that when Blockbuster first opened it was the large corporation that was responsible for putting smaller, independent retailers out of business, but now the roles have been reversed."

Blockbuster UK recently announced the closure of 129 of its 528 stores, with staff at the Gleadless Road and Chesterfield Road outlets facing redundancy, and currently selling off all their stock.

"The store closure plan is an inevitable consequence of having to restructure the company,” explained joint administrator Lee Manning, of financial consultancy firm Deloitte.

“We are working closely with suppliers and employees to ensure the best possible platform to secure a sale."

Additional info

Address: Ridgeway Road Sheffield S12 2JX

Tags: Blockbuster, Kippy's Gift Emporium, Deloitte, Gleadless Townend