Storeowner profile
What is/was the name of your video store?
Movie Tyme
Where was the store located?
Tempe, Arizona (United States)
When did you open/buy this store?
1988
In your own words, please tell the story of how you got involved in the video retail
industry. When did you open your first video store? Why did you decide to do so?
As a movie buff, video stores were fascinating. They thronged with customers, which seem to imply profit. So naively I bought one. It had great volume, but no significant profit materialized. Biggest problem was location in a dying shopping center with a landlord who didn’t seem to care. This developed after the first rather successful year.
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features, and why did you choose to design it this way?
The store was the typical Mom & Pop type of the 1980’s -- 1,600 square feet with video box displays and actual videos in cases behind the counter. Film posters and displays abounded. Large screen TV was always playing some recent release. Store differentiated from the emerging chains (e.g, Blockbusters) by offering reservation; home delivery; and large selection of classic films, cult films, foreign films, quality/educational children's videos, and documentaries. It also had an adult xxx section, properly isolated. Minor income came from the sale of film posters, videos, and VCR cleaning.
What were your customers like? What particularly memorable customers
or events do you remember?
Customers were mostly representative of the neighborhood. They were WASP mostly, middle class, but with notable exceptions. We had a few professional athletes from Phoenix teams, a couple of corporate CEO’s, many of varying ethnic background attracted by our foreign film selection, and some rather unique persons for our cult videos. As to memorable events, a late fee situation comes to mind. A regular customer, a Phoenix Cardinal player, kept an adult video for over a month. Our policy was that the late fee never exceeds the value of the video. In this case that was $50. However, the computer simply tallied the fee without consideration of the limit. It was about $500. He plunked the cash down, apologized to the clerk, and rented another video. I refunded the difference over $50 to him. Many other instance of cavalier approaches to fees occurred, and the converse too. We gave discount coupons for various situations. One customer clipped these from various sources and then mingled them for 15 rentals during a month at $.39 cents each. I admired her ingenuity, but also was mollified by her son, as a new customer, renting extensively at regular rates.
What were your employees like? What qualifications or expertise did
you look for in an employee?
Staff was highly knowledgeable about the films and video. They could intelligently discuss any and all aspects of video and films. By paying higher than average wages, staff turnover was kept very low. This also meant that the staff got to know customers personally. Our prices were higher that the national chains, but the high level of customer service retained a loyal customer following.
What video formats did your store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store? How did this selection change over time?
VHS was the only rental format offered. A few laserdiscs were sold. Format did not change through time. Video sales increased from around 3% of income in 1988 to 15% by 1993.
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did your store rent/sell? Where were
these videos found in the store, and how important were they to your business?
Adult xxx was clearly the most profitable genera, but did not constitute a mainstay for the store. They were rented/purchased by regular customers, not a specialized customer segment. Adult video were kept in a separate room, only accessible to adults.
What other services/products did you offer besides the rental or sale of
programs? Did this change over time?
Minor income came from the sale of film posters, copying personal videos, VCR rental, and VCR cleaning. No change occurred through time, except for VCR rental. These declined. As noted above, video sales grew; they represented a significant part of the store’s income.
Did you ever rent VCRs or other hardware to your customers? If so,
how important were hardware rentals to your business?
Never a significant factor. See comment above.
During the period that you worked in video retail, what changes did you see
taking place in the industry as a whole?
It went from a specialty to a commodity. The Mom & Pop who paid $65 per tape were supplanted by the Blockbuster who only paid $20 because of volume. Price ruled over service. A few service oriented stores continue, but they are the exception. Movie Tyme was the first video store in south Tempe, opening in 1981. I acquired it in 1988. In 1988, 13 Mom & Pop stores existed in south Tempe. By 1993 the area had four national chain stores and only one Mom & Pop store – Movie Tyme.
Are you still in the video retail business? If so, please describe your current
involvement in the video industry.
No longer involved...other than watching videos. Movie Tyme did not die because of competition. It was done in by a landlord that could not keep a shopping center populated. Hard to bring in customers with an unlit parking lot and decrepit surroundings. An independent video store that specializes in service and unique offerings still thrives in an adjacent community. Movie Tyme always made profit, but at one-two percent, it was not a reasonable enterprise to peruse. With a huge going-out-of-business sale, Movie Tyme closed in 1993.