Columbia House files for bankruptcy

Filmed Entertainment Inc. announced today that the Company has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to pursue an orderly sale of its Columbia House DVD Club business, a direct-to-customer distributor of movies and television series in the United States. Big retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco were also expanding rapidly.

Inside a couple of years, Amazon and Apple would reveal loading choices that did away with actual media completely.

Columbia House, owned by CBS, began a mail-order business selling records in 1955. In 1996, it grossed about $1.4 billion, which admittedly pales in comparison to what modern entertainment companies make.

The reason why for that bankruptcy read just like a background of the modifications which have taken through retail and the amusement business during the last 2 decades. In 2014, the company’s net revenues were $17 million. Filmed Entertainment suggests it regarded an electronic loading support for audio and examined a loading choice for films on its site this past year, but claims opposition in both places could be intense. It closed the music club, which once offered deals like eight CDs for a penny, in 2010. If you don’t decline the selection in time, it’s shipped to you and you’re billed for it. People who stay members are also required to buy a set number of full-priced DVDs over a certain period of time and can only end their membership after they fulfill that obligation. They likewise have to cover delivery.

Former Columbia House art director Mark Rubenstein commented on the company’s financial status by saying, “The thing I remember most is their unwillingness to change with the times”.

According to forms filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York, 110,000 people have bought a product from the Columbia House DVD Club within the previous year.