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We've never been to the knockoff DVD shop called Blockbuster ... and now we'll never get a chance to. The real Blockbuster has seen to it that the place -- which apparently is of the overpriced, 10 kuai per DVD, Kade Club ilk -- lose its name. This is from Access Asia's Weekly View on Asia:
... some entrepreneurial guys in Shanghai did open a DVD store and called it Blockbuster, complete with yellow lettering on a blue background, as per the thousands of Blockbuster outlets globally. It did well (and even offered browsers a free beer while shopping), but Blockbuster’s lawyers weren’t having any of it, and issued a cease and desist order, meaning that Blockbuster, even in a fake guise, is in China no more.
A forum post says that Blockbuster (the Shanghai one) has kept its colors and changed its name to "Hollywood" (another cease and desist coming soon?). "Rattle the door and they will let you in," the poster said. It is supposed to be close to Big Bamboo on Nanyang Lu.
We've also heard that Blockbuster Hollywood is owned, at least partially, by a Westerner, a guy who manages a bar in town. Must have some good guanxi -- we always thought stunts like that would land you in jail.
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Actually the place was opened by an American guy for his girlfriend so technically, he is probably not involved, only his money. Lest his wife find out I suppose, LOL. Cannot imagine an American actually risking the IP infringement issues from his home country, especially since US law is enforced upon American citizens even when abroad.
The store was opened in partnership with a local CD vendor that many old school Expatriate will remember operating INSIDE a well know local expat bar years back. The place is now called Hollywood Hits, the word "hits" is very small on the new sign. 10rmb dvd's, free drink when you go in. Not a bad place really.
I work in Plaza 66 and found it out one day after lunch on Tongren lu, it's nothing special and the woman working there is kinda racist against Chinese for some reason, just like kade club. Actually 2 weeks ago my boyfriend was talking about the name of this dvd place and patent etc, it's just ridiculous when you think about it. Anyway, since most of the dvd shops are almost selling nothing, it might not be a bad place to shop for dvds, 10kuai is still cheaper than CAD 20.
May I add that the DVDs there are quite good quality as well. I prefer paying 10kuai for a DVD than 5 for one that will not work properly when I get home... Which happens a lot with cheap ones.
LOL, I've been past there a few times and even stopped in once. It was always empty and at first glance it looked like an authentic Blockbuster.