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It certainly seems that way... in the long run. In the beginning, in 1997, Netflix was a company that sent DVDs by mail. Fast forward, they're an internet video

It certainly seems that way... in the long run. In the beginning, in 1997, Netflix was a company that sent DVDs by mail. Fast forward, they're an internet video-on-demand company. The writing was on the wall for Blockbuster way back in 1997 but it took over a decade for their model to go bust. The not-so-well known fact is that Blockbuster was already losing money and going bankrupt even before Netflix finished them off. Similarly, Hertz has declared bankruptcy and the other car rental companies are not far behind. Uber and Lyft are certainly not the cause of their demise in the same way that 1997-era Netflix couldn't be blamed for Blockbuster's demise. But the writing was on the wall, and the writing is certainly on the wall here. This comment thread on HN from 2008 is quite an interesting read if you see some of the comments denying Blockbuster's precarious position: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=280425 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=280425

brewdad 5y ago
Hertz declared bankruptcy because a global pandemic shut down travel worldwide overnight and they were highly extended in credit that up to that moment made sense in a normally functioning society and low interest rates.
- rexreed 5y ago
  When you're living life on the edge, every short-term problem can turn into a life-threatening disaster. If it wasn't the pandemic, it would be something else. The rental car industry is living paycheck to paycheck. Hertz (and Avis and Enterprise and Dollar Thrifty and ...) have endemic and structural problems. Indeed, read this article, which was originally written in 2012 and updated in 2018... before the pandemic: https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/07/13/surprising-facts-abut-the-rental-car-industry.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/07/13/surprising... "... this interferes with the ability to develop a moat around their products and/or services. And on a practical level, it impedes margins and profitability. Avis and Hertz, for instance, have been profitable in only one and two of the last five years, respectively."

brewdad 5y ago

Hertz declared bankruptcy because a global pandemic shut down travel worldwide overnight and they were highly extended in credit that up to that moment made sense in a normally functioning society and low interest rates.

rexreed 5y ago
When you're living life on the edge, every short-term problem can turn into a life-threatening disaster. If it wasn't the pandemic, it would be something else. The rental car industry is living paycheck to paycheck. Hertz (and Avis and Enterprise and Dollar Thrifty and ...) have endemic and structural problems. Indeed, read this article, which was originally written in 2012 and updated in 2018... before the pandemic: https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/07/13/surprising-facts-abut-the-rental-car-industry.aspx https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/07/13/surprising... "... this interferes with the ability to develop a moat around their products and/or services. And on a practical level, it impedes margins and profitability. Avis and Hertz, for instance, have been profitable in only one and two of the last five years, respectively."