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Video business can't rewind Inuvik business closing its doors after more than 20 years
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 8, 2013
INUVIK
Downtown Inuvik is losing another long-term, staple business.
Mike Lindsay is closing down the Video Express store Aug. 12 after more than 20 years in business. A combination of reasons contributed to the decision to shut down the retail outlet. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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Mike Lindsay is closing his Video Effects rental and sales business Aug. 12 after more than 20 years of operation.
He said he's been thinking about the move for more than a year as the store steadily lost money, despite being the only option in town.
It's not a surprise, Lindsay said, considering the state of the video rental and sales market all over North America and the declining economy in Inuvik.
"The economy here is really what's going on," he said. "The industry is falling off all over the country too. It was just a combination of things."
It's been several years since the big-box operations such as Blockbuster folded, leaving the field mostly to small independent operations such as Video Effects. Many of them, including the Inuvik store, operated under the aegis of the Movie Experts, a loose co-operative of small operations, to try to achieve some kind of economy of scale to make them viable.
"It's 27 years now the store's been open," he said. "I've owned it since 1992 or so."
From employee to owner
He started with the store as an employee before buying it from the original owner, so Lindsay has been with the operation almost from the beginning.
A longtime customer who refused to give his name said he was "disappointed" at the news Lindsay was closing.
"It was always a good place to come to," he said. "I'll have to get my movies online, I guess. It was always nice to come by and pick up a movie off the shelf."
Lindsay said that customer's reaction was typical. Most people are disappointed, he said, but understanding and sympathetic.
The closure even started a discussion among Inuvik residents on Facebook. Mary Ann Ross was encouraging people to attend the next council meeting in August to discuss what could be done to help businesses in Inuvik, who are reeling under the economic downturn and rising energy costs.
Internet a factor in decline
The convenience of being able to download a movie off the Internet without leaving the comfort of your home was a definite factor in the decline of the video-rental business, Lindsay said, although with the high cost of bandwidth he doubted it is any cheaper than opting for a rental.
He noted that several customers had tried that approach over the years only to find themselves hammered by staggering fees when they exceed their Internet cap for the month.
"I've had people come in and tell me they've been charged hundreds of dollars extra," he said.
"I expected that technology would have put me out of business even before now," Lindsay added. "So I've stayed in business longer than I expected. It's a little sad after all this time, though."
His closure comes on the heels of Arctic Foods shutting down at the other end of the downtown core.
Five people work at Video Effects, which started as a family-run business but now employs non-related staff.
"It's just high costs around town right now and the lack of jobs," Lindsay said.
So far, Lindsay said he has no immediate job prospects.
"We'll just play it as it goes. Everything just caught up to me all of a sudden."
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