Supermarkets and Retail

The company opened its first store in Glenorchy in 1982, and grew to 26 stores in Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland. Film buffs on Monday began picking over the 30,000 movie titles that are selling out, with the final day of the store’s closing-down sale expected to be Sunday.

Video City managing director Michael Ewing said the company had been a “fantastic adventure over the years”.

He said the New Town store was the last standalone video store in the state and one of only about five remaining in Australia.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said.

“It’s been an exciting journey and I’m comfortable with what we’ve achieved.”


New Town Video City manager Steven Trotter (pictured) says the business can no longer compete against online streaming services.

Despite the demise of video rental stores, cinemas appear to be surviving the digital onslaught.

North Hobart’s State Cinema owner John Kelly said the venue was still going strong because people “still like to get out”.

“There’s more and more competition from online services, but we make it enticing for people to come out,” he said.

As well as the social element, Mr Kelly said cinemas had found ways to add more to their offerings.

“The cinema has turned into a destination,” Mr Kelly said.

“It’s more than the experience in the auditorium – it’s the bar, the café and bookstore.”

He said they were also creating events, such as the current moon film festival and upcoming Scandinavian film festival.

Mr Kelly said there was life in cinema for many years to come.

“Cinema has a knack of hanging around and reinventing itself consistently.”