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The Future of Video Rental

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Submitted By Tat2diver
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In the video rental industry, the company Blockbuster took an early foot hold as the industry leader. In 1997, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings discovered the growing market space within the DVD market and formed the company Netflix in Scotts Valley, California with $2.5 million in startup cash. The company was formed with the idea that customers could utilize the company’s web site to rent DVDs and have them delivered to their home. The inspiration for the company came from Reed Hastings after he acquired $40 of overdue fees on an Apollo 13 movie rental from Blockbuster (A brief history of Netflix - CNN.com, n.d.). The business model for Netflix was created upon the methodology that customers will receive the movies of their choice in the mail while never incurring late fees. (Abraham, 2012 p. 1.8). Netflix added customer value and convenience by using processes already in place such as the US Postal Systems to capitalize on the delivery of their product. In this paper, I will outline a SWOT analysis of Netflix as well as prepare a strategic plan to grow the business over the next three years. Using SWOT analysis and strategic planning an organization performs organizational forecasting similar to advice given to a US hockey player once made concerning hockey, “skate where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” (Schwartz, n.d.) Strategic planning is a systematic way of planning for the organizational future but upon the data based decisions from the SWOT analysis.

The distinctive aspect between Netflix and their competition rests with the concept of Netflix bypassing the physical storefront retail route and dedication the business model around order fulfillment and distribution from a warehouse directly to the consumer. This entire retail process reduces the upfront cost of establishing stores throughout the target markets. In the beginning, Netflix

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