Reed Hastings, a Los Gatos, California-based co-founder of Netflix, began operations of the company in 1997 after receiving a huge charge for renting a movie he had returned long overdue. However, Hastings wanted to be different from traditional movie channels; while customers had to go to the location, pay a certain amount for each film rented and have a deadline to return the film. Instead of using a method established by other video marketplaces “to attract customers to a point of sale, Netflix offered home delivery of DVDs through the mail” which ultimately led to a booming business in forms of streaming entertainment (Shih , Kaufman and Spinola, 2009 , p. 3). Today, Netflix exists alongside numerous competitors; however, it offers the most streaming content available for viewing and continues to grow its subscriber base both domestically and globally. Although direct and indirect competitors, acquisition costs, and various obstacles pose a financial threat to Netflix, the company has managed to grow with successful partnerships, expand into international territories, and significantly increase its stock price. NetflixAlthough Hastings promised to be different from other video retailers, its goal was to use an identical pricing strategy; however, one that “attracted customers [. . .] who used online shopping as an alternative to traveling to stores” due to ease of access and greater preferences (Shih, Kaufman, & Spinola, 2009, p. 3). Additionally, Netflix launched its business at a time when DVDs were just hitting the market as the company expected the new technology to be a promising venture. However, in the space of a year DVD players have become so vast... half of paper......r.com/Netflix%20Case.pdfThe Huffington Post.com, Inc. (January 23, 2014). Netflix shares rise to new highs. Received from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/netflix-stock-new-high_n_4653176.htmlKriete, L. (2013). Netflix Strategic Plan 2013. Retrieved from https://lpelin.expressions.syr.edu/trf483/files/2013/05/final_strategic_report.pdfNetflix, Inc. (2013). Form 10-K: 2012 Annual Report. Retrieved from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/3053269812x0x658002/2604be28-a3d3-49e6-a504-df6cb4856a02/2012_10K.pdfRoxborough, S. (2013, May 2). Netflix's plan to conquer the world. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-plan-conquer-world-449083Shih, W., Kaufman, S., & Spinola, D. (2009, April 27). Netflix. Harvard Business School Case 607-138, p. 1-15. Retrieved from http://embadu.com/sites/default/files/Netflix.pdf