C. D. Ward
May 20th 2005, 11:41 AM
Okay, the thread title is somewhat tongue in cheek.
Netflix 1, Wal-Mart 0 (http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2005/tc20050520_3983_tc024.htm)
Is the tide finally turning for Netflix? For the past two years, wave after wave of competitors had threatened to capsize the DVD rental-by-mail pioneer. Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores (WMT ) entered the market with prices that undercut Netflix (NFLX ). So did Blockbuster Entertainment (BBI ), which has quickly amassed nearly 1 million subscribers. And e-tailer Amazon.com (AMZN ), which opened a rental service in Britain last year, hinted that it might create its own U.S. service, too.
Now it looks like the competitive storm is dying down -- on the surface, at least. On May 19, Wal-Mart abandoned ship, turning over its DVD rental service to Netflix and promising to promote its service in return for links advertising DVD sales on Walmart.com. "It's great to have the world's largest retailer as a partner," says Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings. He got the deal rolling during a dinner last January with Wal-Mart Chief Marketing Officer John Fleming, who handles the company's online operations.if (!window.adOb) document.write('');
Now, I've long admired Wal-Mart's recognition of the importance of information technology to business success and their bleeding edge usage of data storage and mining technologies and techniques, but at the same time, I bemoan the advent of the superstore and the loss of customer experience it inevitably brings. Enter Netflix which, according to industry analysts, provides a better online experience than Wal-Mart and which, despite the provision of lower cost service by Wal-Mart, has now beaten them in their attempt to move in to this particular market niche. Proving that it can be done: a concentrated, focussed effort on superior service can beat the "stack 'em deep, sell 'em cheap" philosophy of the superstore. You just have to have the right "stone"... :hehe:
Netflix 1, Wal-Mart 0 (http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2005/tc20050520_3983_tc024.htm)
Is the tide finally turning for Netflix? For the past two years, wave after wave of competitors had threatened to capsize the DVD rental-by-mail pioneer. Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores (WMT ) entered the market with prices that undercut Netflix (NFLX ). So did Blockbuster Entertainment (BBI ), which has quickly amassed nearly 1 million subscribers. And e-tailer Amazon.com (AMZN ), which opened a rental service in Britain last year, hinted that it might create its own U.S. service, too.
Now it looks like the competitive storm is dying down -- on the surface, at least. On May 19, Wal-Mart abandoned ship, turning over its DVD rental service to Netflix and promising to promote its service in return for links advertising DVD sales on Walmart.com. "It's great to have the world's largest retailer as a partner," says Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings. He got the deal rolling during a dinner last January with Wal-Mart Chief Marketing Officer John Fleming, who handles the company's online operations.if (!window.adOb) document.write('');
Now, I've long admired Wal-Mart's recognition of the importance of information technology to business success and their bleeding edge usage of data storage and mining technologies and techniques, but at the same time, I bemoan the advent of the superstore and the loss of customer experience it inevitably brings. Enter Netflix which, according to industry analysts, provides a better online experience than Wal-Mart and which, despite the provision of lower cost service by Wal-Mart, has now beaten them in their attempt to move in to this particular market niche. Proving that it can be done: a concentrated, focussed effort on superior service can beat the "stack 'em deep, sell 'em cheap" philosophy of the superstore. You just have to have the right "stone"... :hehe: