KIAMA residents wishing to peruse new movie releases within the familiar surroundings of a video shop will soon have to travel further afield, with the impending closure of the Civic Video store.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This follows the closure of Video Ezy’s Kiama franchise in November 2012.
Civic Video Kiama owner Donna Simcock said they had opened the Shoalhaven Street shop two years ago.
This was in addition to stores already owned in Albion Park, Shellharbour and Corrimal.
Mrs Simcock said while they were no longer renting films, they would continue to sell and likely remain open until the end of the month.
She said it was an unfortunate decision.
‘‘Our lease is about due, and we have three other Civic stores,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s the ideal business for owner/operators, not for under management.
‘‘We also had to make a decision on the NBN as well, which would cost a lot to get connected.’’
Mrs Simcock said while business had been reasonable, it was a financial decision.
She said the Kiama store’s staff would be moved to their other stores.
‘‘Everyone’s (customers) complaining, but it’s a business decision at the end of the day.’’
However, while factors such as downloads, piracy and overall retail downturn have resulted in some predicting the death knell for large video stores in favour of small video stores and vending machines, Mrs Simcock believed large shops remained important.
‘‘Across the board, we’re up in business at a couple of stores,’’ she said.
‘‘Weather affects us; if it rains we’re very busy.
‘‘(Downloading and piracy) hasn’t fully affected us, but it’s hard to monitor.’’