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Blockbuster-Circuit City Merger Raises Questions, Eyebrows
Bill Maher had a different take on the potential merging of the two well-known retailers. During the April 18, 2008 broadcast of his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," he offered this comedic rant:
New rule: Crappy companies don't get to merge with other crappy companies. This week Blockbuster Video announced a hostile takeover of Circuit City. What a brilliant idea, the two places nobody goes anymore finally under one roof.
Blockbuster's plan is to combine their expertise in never having the video you want with Circuit City's high-pressure sales staff of ignorant teenagers to create the ultimate in horrible retail experiences.
There appears to be a good chance that the scenario that Maher described won't play out.
According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, the merger has hit a couple of roadblocks. One is that Circuit City isn't being extremely forthcoming with its books. Another is that Blockbuster is reluctant to go through with a hostile bid.
"The heart of the matter is that we still need facts," Keyes told WSJ. "With those facts, we can choose whether to proceed or get back to our continued success."
The reason Circuit City is somewhat holding back, according to the WSJ piece, is that it's unclear how Blockbuster would pay for the deal.
Watch the video below (segment begins at 1:35).
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News · Big-Box Retailers · Mergers and Acquisitions · Big-box Retailers · Mergers And Acquisitions ·About the Author
5 Comments
I never did like Bill Maher. His opinions are based on his own bias on the topic at hand and very rarely is he ever right about anything. He rants as if he is some all knowing expert in all fields. What exactly makes him qualified to comment on anything? I personally use Circuit City and Blockbuster. I find the salesman at Circuit City to be better than the ones over at Best Buy. Yes they both aren’t the greatest but they are the lesser of the two evils I feel. Also I have a pass at Blockbuster because, firstly they are within 2mi of my home, the pass is a very good deal for me, and they have just about any titles I really want to watch. I find Blockbuster to be very well managed around where I live and will continue to buisness with them until I find a good reason not too. Maybe Maher should stop trying to speak for the entire American public as if we asked him too.
No I’m sorry, Maher is right, both these places suck.
Blockbuster tries really hard, but things just haven’t been going their way. And they recognize that their core business is doomed in the long term, and are working on their own digital delivery services, so they have that going for them.
From a retail perspective, their stores around here look good and are well stocked. The local stores for competing Canadian national chain Rogers Video, who face all the same challenges as Blockbuster started looking really sad and unmanaged in the past year.
If Bill Maher was actually funny and not a bigot he’d be Dennis Miller. There’s a reason he wound up on HBO instead of real TV.
I’m amazed, I actually agree with Bill Maher for once.