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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
The old shows will go on
Pushed out of its current location, Movie Village moving in with sister business
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Movie Village is an Osborne Village fixture. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press The Music Trader store on the Osborne Village strip will soon have Movie Village squeezing into its 1,400 square feet. The Shoppers Drug Mart expansion up the street is pushing the video store out. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
The curtain will not come down on an Osborne Village institution after all.
Movie Village, Winnipeg's home of independent and rare movies since 1984, is preparing to move down the street to share space with Music Trader, a retailer and trader of CDs and records.
David Ringer, whose family owns the two stores, said as digitization continues to hurt the music and movie-rental businesses, consolidating in one location gives the two outlets the best chance for long-term survival.
Movie Village's move means significant downsizing. It currently operates in a 5,000-square-foot space. Music Traders' footprint is just 1,400 square feet.
One of the shortest moves in Winnipeg corporate history (the two stores are less than 100 metres apart) will take place in June as Movie Village and Vi-ann, a Vietnamese diner, have to vacate their building by July 3. Shoppers Drug Mart has bought the property and plans to more than double its current 10,000-square-foot store.
"Business is quite good at the moment. Both stores, Movie Village in particular, are doing well," Ringer said. "Movie Village has managed to capture a large piece of a shrinking pie, but I'm afraid there isn't much left to capture anymore. We're anticipating a continuing trend. This is a fairly dramatic move, but it's one that I hope will give us a little longevity."
One movie-rental industry giant, Blockbuster, shuttered all its Winnipeg stores last year, and another, Rogers, recently announced plans to get out of movie rentals and focus its retail efforts on wireless and higher-margin products.
Ringer said Music Traders won't need much renovation, as movie and music merchandise use most of the same fixtures.
Susan McCaine, executive director of the Osborne Village BIZ, said she was "elated" to hear Movie Village would live on.
"Movie Village is an icon. There is no place in the city that you can get the independent movies that they carry. It's the only movie store that has a chance of succeeding," she said.
Many people in what was named Canada's best neighbourhood last week don't have access to video-on-demand and still rely on movie retailers for their in-home entertainment, she said.
Ringer said he has received an outpouring of customer feedback in the last four months asking him not to close Movie Village. He said he never planned to, but wanted to ensure he had the support of his staff before he made plans for the future.
"This neighbourhood has been very good to us. Both businesses thrived in it. It's a wonderful place to work and live," he said.
Shoppers offered the owners of Vi-ann two years of rent-free space to relocate their restaurant on the expanded store's second floor. The second level will be leased to one or more interested businesses.
Owners of Vi-ann could not be reached for comment Monday.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 1, 2012 B1
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