The depressing plot twists just keep getting worse for bricks-and-mortar video rental shops: Movie Gallery, which operates stores under its own name and the Hollywood Video banner, this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be closing 760 stores nationwide, more than a quarter of its total. The company also warns that more locations could close as the bankruptcy process unfolds. Movie Gallery is aiming to reorganize and move ahead with its most profitable stores, but this is its second trip into bankruptcy in less than three years, and it also closed several hundred stores during its initial stint there.
There are 22 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in the Charlotte region. Of those, half are set to close, according to the company's Web site. Affected locations include the Movie Gallery stores in Belmont, Cherryville, Chester, Gastonia, Lake Wylie, Lincolnton, Rock Hill and Waxhaw, and the Hollywood Video stores in Matthews, Harrisburg and on Johnston Road in Charlotte.
Beset by competition from Netflix, Redbox, and other downloadable and on-demand streaming services, traditional video rental stores are vanishing from the landscape at a precipitous rate. Blockbuster Video, the nation's largest video rental chain, has also been closing hundreds of stores, including but not limited to locations on Montford Drive and at Quail Corners on Park Road in Charlotte. The Montford Drive location was where I went to rent movies when I first moved to Charlotte. But that was years ago, before I had a Netflix subscription - which kind of sums up the dilemma such stores face these days.
According to a news release, Movie Gallery's goal is to emerge from bankruptcy with a "new and sustainable business model centered on a smaller base of profitable stores." But with the tides shifting as they are, I'm wondering how long even those will remain profitable enough to remain afloat. Though there are still people who like to pick out movies in person - and impulsive times when that's the only option - that pool of customers seems to be draining quickly. It'll be interesting to see where it ends.