Blockbuster Canada clearance sale begins Friday; 146 stores set to close
Posted May 27, 2011 2:08 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Bargain hunters are scouring the shelves of many Blockbuster Video stores across the country as clearance sales offer up DVDs and video games at deeply discounted prices.
The movie rental chain began liquidation sales on Friday morning at 146 Canadian locations that are scheduled to be shut down in June.
About a dozen customers combed through the shelves of one Toronto Blockbuster on Friday around lunch hour. Yellow signs emblazoned with “30 per cent off” were covered the shelves of the store and some customers were walking out with stacks of merchandise.
“I bought a bunch of TV series I haven’t seen and a bunch of movies I like,” said Tony Leonardo, a regular customer at the store on College and Crawford streets.
“Its very gloomy for the staff. They’re sad and in shock. It’s almost like going to a funeral.”
The discounts are not much different than Blockbuster’s usual sales. The company regularly offered either 30 per cent off used DVDs or “Buy two, get one free” offers on other previously viewed merchandise.
However, the clearance prices expand to all of the company’s merchandise, including new DVDs, candy and toys.
About 1,400 Blockbuster staff could lose their jobs in Canada, but the receiver in charge of selling the company has not given exact numbers.
Ontario will have the most closures, but every province will lose at least one Blockbuster store.
Blockbuster Canada is being sold off to pay US$70 million in debt racked up by its former U.S. parent.
The Canadian arm of the chain had acted as a guarantor for Blockbuster’s U.S. business, which went into bankruptcy protection and was later sold at auction to another owner.
