http://trtls.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] trtls.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2009-07-11 07:42 pm

Hollywood Express closing Davis location

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.

[personal profile] ron_newman 2009-07-13 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
But is Netflix better than the local business whose closing the OP is lamenting? That's the real issue here, not Blockbuster.

[identity profile] thetathx1138.livejournal.com 2009-07-13 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
They're not really competing. Netflix is a national service and it mostly caters to people who are too busy to go to the video store, or just don't want to. Notice that Hollywood Express isn't leaving because the company's failing: it's leaving because rents are getting jacked up. The latter is unfortunate, and I'm sure Netflix hasn't made their lives easier, but I think comparing Netflix to HE is kind of pointless.

The Porter Square BB, on the other hand, is closing likely because the company itself is about a hairsbreadth away from death. Last quarter they issued a notice that even if their credit was redone in their favor, there was a possibility the company would fail anyway.

Honestly, I was ten minutes' walk from the Davis Hollywood Express, I had an account, and I was in there maybe three times in the two years I've lived here. I rented videos from them probably twice. HE didn't lose me as a customer, and I'll still go to them whenever I have the occasional need for a movie right then. But that's rare with me.