Mexico City - Old American store brands don't die, they just move to Mexico. Blockbuster, Woolworth and Sears - extinct or barely hanging on in the U.S. - are getting an afterlife from Mexican billionaires and other investors who look past the mustiness and see profits.

Ricardo Salinas Pliego's Grupo Elektra paid $31 million in 2014 for 300 Blockbuster stores in Mexico, just as the U.S. business collapsed into a shell of its former self with nothing more than an online streaming service.

Woolworth, whose last U.S. shop closed in the 1990s, plans three new locations in Mexico next year. Sears in Mexico, controlled by Carlos Slim's Grupo Sanborns, will open five new stores in 2015; last fiscal year, its U.S. namesake closed 61.

All this shows that there's money to be made from Mexican consumers who still have positive associations with American brands.

While Blockbuster as a date-night destination went the way of the VHS tape in the U.S., Mexicans still flock to rent video games the old-fashioned way.

Retail brands have a longer shelf-life because they don't face as many competitors, and fewer people buy online, according to Juan Martinez, the president of research firm Superbrands Mexico.

"There's not the same pressure," Martinez said from Mexico City. "There are many brands that can survive a little longer in Mexico than in the U.S."

Mexico City's trendy Roma neighbourhood is dotted with Blockbuster, Sears and Woolworth stores, along with art galleries and sidewalk cafés.

U.S. stores and restaurants are "aspirational" brands for many Mexicans, particularly those without easy access to credit, according to Martha Shelton, an equity analyst with Itau BBA in Mexico City.

"They're still very viable in Mexico. There's a nice long runway for growth."

Walk through the Sears in the capital's upscale Polanco area, and the clothes, electronics and Craftsman tools are much the same as those in the U.S.

"They have good brands here," Veronica Sodi, 44, an accountant, said as she shopped for a pair of shoes with her sister and nieces.