KITCHENER -- A video store in Kitchener is shutting down after nearly two decades in business.
Earlier in the pandemic, staff at Far Out Flicks said business was still booming. But, the latest lockdown and the popularity of streaming services mean the doors are now closing for good.
"It feels like the end of an era," customer Maurice O'Brien said.
O'Brien said movies are magic.
"It's a way to transport yourself out of your daily life and into someone else's," he said.
Now, O'Brien will miss perusing the aisles for the perfect film.
"I suppose I'm going to start ordering a streaming service," he said.
Owner Rolf Glemser said streaming services and big box stores resulted in stiff competition for Far Out Flicks.
"Once streaming started weeks before we could actually have a physical copy, at that point I realized Hollywood wanted movie stores gone," Glemser said. "No new products, no new customers."
The pandemic didn't help his business.
"After the second lockdown, I was like 'OK I get it, we're done,'" Glemser said.
The store has deep discounts on stock right now, trying to empty shelves before the it shuts down.
Chun Qiu, a marketing expert at Wilfrid Laurier University, said video stores have been dying for years. He said future sales should be geared towards collectors.
"The value isn't coming from the movie per say, but from the carrier, the poster or the packaging," he said.
Far Out Flicks still has tens of thousands of DVDs, Blu Rays and VHS tapes to sell. Any leftovers will be stored in a warehouse.
The brick and mortar store will be gone by the end of the year.
