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The two Blockbuster stores in Kettering and the one in Fairborn will close next month, according to local Blockbuster associates.
The move will cut the number of stores in the Dayton area from 11 to eight as the company continues to lose ground in the video rental industry.
Earlier this year, Blockbuster stores closed in Xenia, Miamisburg and Vandalia, and a Riverside store closed in 2010.
Blockbuster, which was founded in 1985, once had more than 3,000 stores nationwide and now has closer to 1,500. The company declared bankruptcy last year and was purchased by Dish Network Corp. for $320 million in June.
Since that time, Blockbuster and other video rental stores — including Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video, which liquidated its stores in 2010 — have faced competition from digital and mail-order video entertainment sources, such as Netflix.
In response, Blockbuster has adjusted its fees and began offering rentals by mail and streaming videos online to remain more competitive, but that may not be working.
When asked if the local closings were part of a larger trend for the company, Dish Network spokesman Marc Lumpkin said it was “difficult to give numbers” related to how many Blockbuster stores are closing.
“Since stores close for a number of reasons, you’d have to watch for signs at the particular stores that close to confirm if it indeed is closing and whether or not it is having a clearance sale,” Lumpkin wrote in an email.
Despite difficult times in the industry, at least one traditional video store appears to be thriving. Family Video, which has 10 Dayton-area stores, said it is gaining ground as Blockbuster appears to crumble.
“It is a sad day certainly for (Blockbuster), but it’s really good for us,” said Mike Noga, Family Video’s district manager for the Cincinnati and Dayton area.
Noga said his store’s prices and the fact that it offers “customer service like crazy” give it an edge over Blockbuster.
Family Video is a privately owned, Illinois-based chain that was founded in 1978. It has close to 750 stores in 19 states, and Noga said there are plans to open more stores.
The Kettering and Fairborn Family Video stores, which are hiring, also reported an increase in customers directly attributed to the closing of the nearby Blockbusters.
“We’ve definitely seen another uptick in our business,” said Byron Caldwell, the manager at the Fairborn Family Video. “This Blockbuster had already done a temporary closing.”
The exiting Blockbuster stores — at 1875 E. Stroop Road and 2400 S. Smithville Road in Kettering, and at 56 S. Central Ave. in Fairborn — are holding clearance sales before their doors close next month.
“It really is interesting; companies that are in the exact same line of business and one is thriving and one is hurting,” Noga said. “Our owner just has it figured out.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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