7-Eleven exec to be new Blockbuster CEO

James W. Keyes takes on role effective today

By Cindy Spielvogel -- Video Business, 7/2/2007

Keyes

JULY 2 | UPDATE: Blockbuster has hired former 7-Eleven president and CEO James W. Keyes as CEO, replacing John Antioco, who will be leaving the company at the end of the year. Keyes takes over the CEO and chairman roles at Blockbuster today, with Antioco assisting the transition.

On the news of Keyes’ appointment, Blockbuster’s stock rose in morning trading to $4.60 from $4.31.

Like Antioco, who also is an alumni of 7-Eleven, Keyes will draw on his experience in technology initiatives at the convenience store chain to spur advances at Blockbuster.

Keyes told VB he sees himself as a “stimulator of change” who will help Blockbuster “do a better job in the four walls” as well as use technology to go beyond them.

He plans to build on Blockbuster's Total Access service to take the company “beyond the four walls” of the bricks-and-mortar video rental store business and into the future of digital delivery or whatever else the customer demands. “Total Access is a good platform; it gives us a great head start,” he said.

But of the company overall, he said, “everything will be a candidate for change. Total Access is consistent with the desire to change. The challenge will be to take Total Access to an entirely new level.”

On the turbulent state of the rental industry, Keyes said, “we have a competitive advantage in that we’re already the recognized leader in the industry.”

He said he plans to take the business beyond in-store and online rentals by mail to the use of portable video devices, if that’s where the demand goes. If consumers want access without leaving the home, he said, Blockbuster will develop the technology platform to bring them that convenience.

According to Blockbuster, 7-Eleven experienced record sales and profits during Keyes' 2000 to 2005 leadership as president and CEO. He implemented new retail systems that improved product assortment decisions in stores and introduced new electronic services. Keyes retired from 7-Eleven in 2005 when the company was sold. At the time of Keyes' retirement, 7-Eleven had produced 36 consecutive quarters of same-store sales increases, with 6,000 franchised and company owned stores in the U.S. and Canada and 30,000 stores worldwide.

"Jim is results-oriented, strategic and able to identify practical, yet highly creative solutions to complicated business problems," Blockbuster board of directors member Carl C. Icahn said in a statement. "Most importantly, he has a strong multi-unit retailing background and an impressive record of introducing new customer-focused technologies into a business that have driven financial results. With his extensive background in finance, operations and marketing, and as a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he is exactly the right person to become the next leader of Blockbuster."

Icahn add, "We also want to express our appreciation to John Antioco for his years of service to Blockbuster. Thanks to John's leadership over the past decade, Blockbuster has transformed itself numerous times, and I believe the initiative he most recently put in place, namely Blockbuster Total Access, should help position the company for future growth."

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