04/25/2014
Dear Friends,
I would like to thank all of you for your support of Trek Video over the last three decades, first as the Picture Show Theatre, then Picture Show Video and finally from 1990 to the present, Trek Video.
I especially want to thank those of you who continued to support the store up to the present day. Your devotion to this “archaic” form of movie entertainment has helped keep the store open for many more years than industry analysts projected. However, their predictions accurately identified what would end the life of the neighborhood video store even if they could not zero in on the exact day of that demise.
The video rental store phenomena rose to prominence in the 1980s thanks to the paradigm shift of putting movies onto video tape. By the 1990s Trek Video had three check-out stations in full operation on weekend nights. But when we replaced our computer last year, there was no need to re-establish the network to even our second terminal. By that point, one person could easily handle the level of weekend business. At the height of the video rental industry there were an estimated 44,000 video stores in the United States. In 2013, less than 10,000 remained.
What caused those 34,000 stores to close? The catalyst was a new paradigm shift that required decades to play out and billions of dollars in investment to complete. At the end of the day, customer convenience was the driver creating the video store phenomena. And even more customer convenience was the force leading to the demise of video stores, as the option of online movie access proliferated.
During the thirty plus years the store has experienced several “waves” of up and down business lasting two to three years. Another down turn began in 2008 that has never hit bottom but continues into 2014 unabated. I have waited patiently over these years for the inevitable upswing. I now must admit that it will not occur and my wait has been in vain.
Operating a video store for three decades has been a wonderful mixed bag of high and low points. During this time I’ve had the honor of meeting the most wonderful people on the planet. I’ve enjoyed seeing the delight in a child’s eye when we had that illusive film they had been all over town searching for, and I’ve cringed when I had to bring disappointment with the announcement that this week’s most sought after title was all checked out. I’ve enjoyed swapping stories with you all, watching your children grow up and return with their own children. I’ve been deeply saddened over the years with the loss of many dear elderly customers. In short, this has been an amazing experience and I’m grateful for your part in the adventure. I hope you will remember Trek Video with fondness, and I wish you all the best. –Rob Olason, owner, Trek Video
