First we watched the death of countless mom-and-pop video stores.
Then the Valley lost Tommy K’s when the independent movie rental chain went belly up a couple of years ago.
After that, it was goodbye to the Hollywood Video store in downtown Ansonia.
Now Seymour is losing its Blockbuster Video store, located for years at Klarides Village on Route 67.
A large “store closing” banner could be seen on the store Monday morning. Posters hanging in the window promised 10 to 30 percent off. “All DVDs and games must be sold,” another poster read.
The movie rental industry — thanks to Netflix, Redbox, and “On Demand” services — has been staggering for years.
Blockbuster, which also offers a Netflix-like service on its website, filed for bankruptcy last year. The company’s assets are now on the auction block.
A Feb. 22 Wall Street Journal article reported that Blockbuster would be closing more than 600 stores by the end of February as part of an agreement with a consortium of its debt holders.
A person answering the phone at the Blockbuster store on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton Monday said they were open for business. The Seymour location was a corporate store, while the Shelton store is a franchise, the employee said.
After Hollywood Video closed in Ansonia, a collection agency attempted to collect outstanding fees owed by former customers. However, the move generated controversy as customers said they were never informed they owed money when they rented from the store.
It is unclear how Blockbuster will handle outstanding balances. A message seeking comment was left Monday morning at the company’s corporate headquarters in Texas.
