Hollywood Express closing Davis location
Jul. 11th, 2009 07:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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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.
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Date: 2009-07-12 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 01:52 pm (UTC)And, as you know, I just cannot cry for Blockbuster.
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From:People who like weird crap...
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Date: 2009-07-12 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 03:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-07-12 05:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 02:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 04:14 am (UTC)(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.)
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Date: 2009-07-12 05:54 am (UTC)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.
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Date: 2009-07-12 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 03:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-07-12 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 07:08 pm (UTC)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.
Totally true!
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Date: 2009-07-15 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 01:25 pm (UTC)big building
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Date: 2009-07-12 01:49 pm (UTC)Does the city at least get more taxes out of it?
Date: 2009-07-12 08:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-07-12 02:17 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2009-07-12 04:21 pm (UTC)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?
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Date: 2009-07-12 03:39 pm (UTC)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"?
Date: 2009-07-12 05:30 pm (UTC)Re: Rents our of control, meaning "too high"?
Date: 2009-07-13 07:54 pm (UTC)Bad news for local business, mine in particular...
Date: 2009-07-12 05:30 pm (UTC)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
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Date: 2009-07-12 05:33 pm (UTC)Re: Bad news for local business, mine in particular...
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From:Hollywood Express - Davis
Date: 2009-07-13 05:10 pm (UTC)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
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Date: 2009-07-13 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-20 12:09 am (UTC)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!