Hollywood Express closing Davis location

[trtls.livejournal.com]

Sad. Just sad. And greedy. According to an employee the rent situation is "out of control" therefore Hollywood Express is merging the Davis Sq. stock into their Porter Sq. store. The Davis location will be closed as of July 27. If you have an account and go in before the closing day, you can get a coupon for 10 free rentals to be used by (I believe) September at the Porter location only. Yet another local store pushed out.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Now that's just sad. It leaves no video store in the neighborhood at all, with Blockbuster closing in Porter Square and Hollywood Video already closed at Mass. Ave & Route 16 in Arlington.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I suspect that a good chunk of the neighborhood already has Netflix subscriptions.

And, as you know, I just cannot cry for Blockbuster.

[squonk.livejournal.com]

What! That's terrible. What're we going to get there instead, a fucking Uno's?

[ceo]

A burrito joint. Bet on it.

[ron_newman]

Or maybe Bertucci's could come back to the neighborhood? They promised to do that after closing the original location (now Subway), but never did.

[maclou.livejournal.com]

Awww that's really too bad! It's so hard to find rental places now, the only place I really rent from any more is the library.

[soong.livejournal.com]

'greedy' makes me want to ramble about the nature of capitalism, but really we'll just all have to wait and see what goes in there and if they can be profitable at the high rent rate. I keep expecting rent-raising-landlords to guess wrong and have months of lost revenue because no business will go in there at that rate, but it doesn't actually turn out that way as often as I expect.

[witzwurst.livejournal.com]

I imagine that 'greedy' late fees may also have something to do with their revenue problems. After a few too many rentals where the single day late charge was double what I'd paid to rent the movies in the first place, I stopped renting out of principle. Just not something I need to worry about.

(It looks as if they've lowered the fees quite a bit since I made that decision, but I still find it absurd that they consider you 'late' for dropping something in the box after they close on the due date.)

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

It has happened with some office space my boss looked at, which was a bit too high for us, but is STILL vacant after several months.

Every time I walk by the building and see that the "for rent" sign is still in the window, I wonder if the guy is ever going to call us and say he'll accept our price.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

who rents videos any more... I don't think it's as much a rent issue as it's a dying industry.

[voodoocheese.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I haven't rented any videos since Netflix and such. It's a shame, but not unexpected.

[trtls.livejournal.com]

I rent videos there all the time. With their coupon system, you can get really great deals, like moveis for as low as $2 each.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Bricks-and-mortar still have their place. Netflix is great for long term but if I need to see something or want to get a specific film, even the on-demand service can't do much for me sometimes.

Now, the huge video rental chains? Those are dying. But I think this is a good thing. They're all a bunch of bastards anyway.

[mihmo.livejournal.com]

I think Hollywood Express made renting videos a fun experience and added a lot of value. There were books in the back to give you ideas on what movies you might want to rent and there were always tons of rotating themed shelves, some were employee picks, some maybe on Halloween were best scary movies, etc. etc. The folks behind the counter are so cool and helpful and genuine! They really know their movies... a lot of times we'd go in and have an idea of the movie we wanted, not know the exact title but maybe some vague details like 'the girl who was in this other movie was in it' and they helped us figure it out several times! I certainly prefer that kind of experience to a service like NetFlix.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Rents in the square will get worse before they get better. The monstrosity that they are allowing to be built beside the Rosebud is the beginning of the end of the character of Davis Square. Small local businesses will not be able to compete/survive.

[ron_newman]

I don't see how that new building is displacing any local businesses. It's only going to have one retail storefront, anyway.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Whaaaat?! What do you think they're putting in there, a Wal-Mart?

Does the city at least get more taxes out of it?

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Not that I want local business to disappear, obviously...

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear this (I was just in there the other day, there was no mention of it). It's sad to see another local business closing in Davis. I've used HE's coupon system for years. Actually (Ron you probably know) how long has HE been in Davis? I remember going to the late, wonderful City Video in Porter before HE opened in Davis. I hope the HE between Porter and Harvard can hang in there.

But I guess I'm not totally surprised by this news given the general faltering of the video rental industry and the fact that so many folks I know around here just use Netfix.

[ron_newman]

I don't know, but it must have been some time after June 2003, as their 'expresslane' newsletter for that month doesn't list the Davis Square location.

Their newsletters are available here, but they did not publish any between June 2003 and August 2007.

Edit: This architect's page says the store opened in 2003.

Did you know that they used to have another location at Twin City Plaza?

[teko.livejournal.com]

Just yesterday, I walked by HE and thought, "gee, I'm amazed this place is still open, I wonder how much longer we'll have a video rental place in the Square?"

Now I feel guilty. Jinx!

Quite honestly, now that Netflix streams instantly to my TV and I can pretty much watch any movie I want within ten seconds of thinking about it, I'm not surprised video stores are having a bit of trouble. Evolution of tech...

Rents our of control, meaning "too high"?

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Really? I thought commercial property firms had trouble finding business to rent to, due to the bad economy....

Re: Rents our of control, meaning "too high"?

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

As implied above, the two are not incompatible.

Bad news for local business, mine in particular...

[plittlergirl.livejournal.com]

Hi Everyone,

Well, unfortunately I do know what is going into the Hollywood space.

A 53 million dollar a year business based out of Arizona, called Buffalo Exchange will be opening.

Buffalo Exchange is almost identical to my store, poor little rich girl.

For those of you unfamiliar with my business, I have been open in the square now for 7 years, and specialize in second-hand modern and vintage clothing for women. Initially I was open in the space of Magpie at 416 Highland.

I do now know how to feel exactly about this, but all I know is that it will have a devestating effect on my ability to afford Davis Square rent, and it will affect Artifaktori, and La Chic Boutique, probably Goodwill too.

They have a great business model, are very successful, but are in no way shape or form a local business, they are a giant chain.

Buffalo Exchange is not a consignment store. Instead they pay out (fairly) low $ for items upfront.

I will probably change the poor little rich girl consignment policies to a 30 day contract (60 days currently) so everyone can get paid faster, since I know the temptation will be to go to an instant payout. Although people who wait for consignment profits make considerably more money.

I am not afraid of competition, I know that with Buffalo Exchange in the square more second-hand fans will come to Davis, but I am absolutely terrified about the drop in sales affecting my ability to pay rent, and to pay my employees decent living wages.

I can be reached directly at plrgbuys@gmail.com if anyone wants to contact me in regards to this, or I can be found at the Somerville Local First booth at Artbeat.

Thanks to all who patronize poor little rich girl, I really appreciate it. We may look like a big business due to the size of the space, but we are truly a small business.

Sincerely,
Meredith Byam
owner, poor little rich girl

Re: Bad news for local business, mine in particular...

[plittlergirl.livejournal.com]

Excuse the spelling, I meant devastating. :)

Hollywood Express - Davis

[ocd81.livejournal.com]

Hi,

My name is Ben, & I manage the Davis Square Hollywood Express. I just want to say how much I love this store, and all our loyal customers. I've worked at all of the locations, including the now defunct Twin City Plaza store, and I have to say I've had the best time here in Davis. I am so attached to all our regular customers & I'm really hoping that I'll see you at the Porter Square location. We'll have an even more extensive selection of movies for rental & sale at Porter & You can also still visit us in Central Square.

I know that some people don't like this company & think that we're greedy because of late fees, but I really need to put this out there:

*The reality is, late fees are not a ploy to gouge our customers. We have fees because without them we would never have anything on our shelves. Most people are great about bringing movies back on time, but without a reason to bring them back, alot of people would just keep them indefinitely. *I can honestly say that we want as many people to get a chance to see our movies as possible, and we want to make money renting to people, not charging penalties. *Late fees are a tiny portion of our income. In the past they were a bigger part, but that was the case at all video stores. Luckily, a lot of employees stuck up for the customers & got the fees lowered.

*IF WE COULD GET RID OF FEES WE WOULD, BUT WE'D BE OUT OF BUSINESS. IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THEM, I SYMPATHIZE COMPLETELY (I'M POOR), BUT TO HAVE A GREAT SELECTION, WHAT I THINK IS A GREAT STAFF, & AN ALL AROUND AWESOME INDEPENDENT STORE, SOME THINGS ARE A NECESSARY EVIL. THE COST OF RENTING A MOVIE FROM THE BIG COMPANIES HAS DWINDLED, BUT ALMOST ALL THE COSTS OF RUNNING & STOCKING A SMALL BUSINESS LIKE THIS HAVE EITHER STAYED THE SAME OR GONE UP (WE CAN THANK THE CORPORATIONS / MAJOR STUDIOS THAT GIVE MANY PRICE BREAKS TO THE BIGGER RENTAL COMPANIES, & ZERO BREAKS TO US). I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T CARE IF THEY SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES, & JUST WANT BETTER DEALS, BUT PLEASE DON'T THINK WE'RE COUNTING OUR MILLION$ & LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK BECAUSE OUR PRICES ARE HIGHER.

*Believe me, I know that late fees are a pain in the ass. I was a customer long before I was an employee, but I realized long ago that most people don't need a movie rental for more than 5 days, & if you do need a movie for 3 weeks for some reason, I can understand using Netflix or just purchasing a movie. I just hope that people feel like I do about small businesses, and think that our kind of store & selection makes the neighborhood a more interesting place to be.

*When it comes right down to it, these business issues are not anyone's problem but our own, but we hope that their will always people out there that appreciate stores like this and don't mind paying extra money to have what I think is a real movie lovers store around.

*We are well aware that ultimately, we might be fighting a losing battle, but we are going to continue to try to be the best video store around (even if we're the last).

*I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE THAT HAS STUCK WITH US, YOU ARE AWESOME!!! WE VALUE YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW, AND HOPE THAT EVEN PEOPLE THAT MIGHT HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH US IN THE PAST GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE. I KNOW WE'LL LOSE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WITH THIS BRANCH CLOSING, BUT I WANT TO THANK THOSE CUSTOMERS SUPPORTING US AS LONG AS THEY COULD.


THANKS,

-BEN @ HOLLYWOOD EXPRESS

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Netflix and Redbox have killed the rental store, basically. At least they are taking the vile Blockbuster out too and not just mom 'n pop. But still a regretful day for young quentin tarantino's around the world.

[kims98.livejournal.com]

I can't say how heartbreaking this is! We have been HE patrons for 10 years since we moved here. We did briefly consider Netflix. While Netflix is more convenient (esp. when you're trudging through the snow to return a rental) and can be cheaper in some instances, the selection at HE is better for harder to find movies. But most of all we figured we valued supporting Davis Square's local businesses and the human social interaction innate to getting to know our neighborhood.

Ben (ocd81), thanks for the shout-out to your customers, it is nice to hear. We will continue to support you guys in Porter Square!