To lose one household name during a period of supposed economic recovery is unfortunate, but to lose three is careless. With the collapse of Jessops, HMV, and Blockbuster approximately 10,000 people face a very uncertain future. So what’s going on?

If you read the BBC’s reporting, it’s all just a case of bad management and outmoded business plans. For example, Ajay Bhalia of Cass Business School, City University London says:

The company, like HMV, failed to transform its business model early enough. When it did, it found a fundamentally altered competitive landscape where the platform model had destroyed the traditional retail one. Continue reading →