Do you still own or use a Video Cassette Recorder? I do.
There are still some great and rare films and programmes that can only be seen on video tapes these days, so I'm glad we've still got our TV/Video combination set.
The last Blockbuster Video store in the UK closed on this day in 2013.
I've spent a lot of 2020 reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I'm a marketer by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us. It's been fascinating to find remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands on the high street and at retail parks.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.
The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.
Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester
We live near an abandoned Blockbuster Video store here in Manchester. It's always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.
2020 and 2013 meet - Covid-19 social distancing signage on the ground next to the remaining signage at the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield
The sign about the closure is still on the window there.
Blockbuster Video in the UK
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.
Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.
The Last Blockbuster Video
There is still one last remaining open Blockbuster Video store in the world. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.
We had planned to go on holiday to Portland this year but the pandemic put paid to that. We would've called in at the store if we were there.
Instead we've been visiting the sites of old Blockbuster Video shops near to us here in the North West of England. It's been incredibly interesting to see how may remnants of the brand can still be found on the high streets and retail parks of the country.
There is still a video shop - with lots of VHS tapes - operating in Bolton. You can find B.V.C - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever. It's well worth a visit to step back in time.
I've spent a fair bit of 2020 reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I am a marketer after all - and I have found remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands. It's wonderful that these traces can still be found on the high street and at retail parks. If you know where to look.
I've found old Tandy and Toys R Us stores and signage - they are two brands I worked for in the 90s and the year 2000. I've also found old Woolworths, Big W, BHS, Kwik Save, Orange Mobile and RadioShack shops.
One of the retro brands I remember clearly from growing up in the 80s and 90s was Happy Shopper. The colourful sign with the happy chappy face is a lovely throwback. Happy Shopper received a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.
The Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
While en route to an abandoned Toys R Us store in Preston I almost didn't believe my eyes as we drove past a closed Happy Shopper shop with the old signage still in place.
At the last Happy Shopper shop we found in Ilkeston, Derbyshire there was an extra bonus - it used to be a video shop too!
You could hire videos from the Happy Shopper in the 1980's!
Video Box Office was the Business to Business part of ChoicesUK and launched in the UK in 1985 when the brand offered video rental services via third-party convenience stores. The following year ChoicesUK created a Business to Consumer operation with their own branded network of Choices Video stores.
While never as big as Blockbuster Video, Choices UK was a challenger to the market leader and the second largest chain of rental shops in the UK with 180 stores in the country. However, by 2007 the market for the rental of physical media was beginning to decline and other factors played a part in the brand going into administration. 59 ChoicesUK shops were taken over and rebranded as Blockbuster stores.
I wonder if there are any other remnants of Choices Video out there...?
Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.
The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.
There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon.
Blockbuster Video in the UK
Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.
I remember going to the Ritz Video shop on the Peachcroft Estate in my home town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire back in the late 80's and early 90's. That store became a Blockbuster and I rented some classics from there back in the day.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.
There are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks almost seven years later.
Last Saturday happened to be National Video Shop Day and we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton! What are the odds?
It was like stepping back in time
The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.
A look at the old Blockbuster Video store in Prescot, Merseyside.
The former Blockbuster Video shop on Church Street in Prescot is now Partyworld, but the old QuikDrop box is still in place with visible branding.
Another 7 years late fee
If you look closely you can also see that the original Blockbuster sign is underneath the Partyworld sign.
Another Lost Blockbuster. It's good to see the Partyworld shop trading in its place though
Can you see the blue and yellow branding?
The old and the new - we didn't know Prescot had links to Shakespeare before our trip there. The crane is part of the building work of the new Shakespeare North Playhouse
Quite a sight to see a Blockbuster Video QuikDrop box AND social distancing measures in the same place!
I wonder how many letters get posted in the QuikDrop box by mistake
My next mini 'tickable list' urban exploration challenge taps into my interest in ghost signs, shops, retail marketing and old brands. Ever since I found the remnants of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester last October I've been amazed to see the brand still has a lingering presence in other places too.
My old local Blockbuster was on Park Street in Luton, Bedfordshire and while it is long-gone I still remember the amount of time I spent in it when I was a student. I built up quite a collection of big-box ex-rental VHS tapes from there in the early noughties.
Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013 so it's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks almost seven years later.
Blockbuster Video and Express stores
Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.
I remember going to the Ritz Video shop on the Peachcroft Estate in my home town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire back in the late 80's and early 90's. That store became a Blockbuster and I rented some classics from there back in the day. Check out this post from the excellent Abingdon Blog to see a photo of the shuttered shop in 2014.
Blockbuster Video Express stores were somewhat smaller than regular Blockbuster shops. Although all of the stores expanded to include video game rentals. Old signage for the games area has been clearly visible on both the Fallowfield and Colne stores I've been to.
In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.
Blockbuster Video Express in Colne
While looking online for nearby places to have a wander during the local lockdown here in the north west I stumbled upon the Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire.
It's crazy to see the store in person as Colne's main street is quite a busy thoroughfare and the prominently positioned Blockbuster was the only empty shop we saw in that particular part of the town.
You should've seen the size of the fine for taking back Police Academy almost seven years late. And I hadn't rewound it
A view of the store from Market Street
The old QuikDrop box has been sealed and painted over
The box is still in place though
It's always nice to see old CRT TVs in place
A view of the right hand side of the store. The Häagen-Dazs fridge is still there
The left side, till area and games wall. Note the Coca-Cola and Ben & Jerry's fridges towards the back of the store too
The games wall
A letter about the Administration. That was a good printer and high quality paper to have lasted so long. The Blockbuster branded tape looks in great condition as well
Still sticky
Blockbuster Video Express in Westcliff on Sea
Last month my friend and fellow blogger Mark Routh kindly sent me some super snaps of the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff on Sea, Essex. I'm looking forward to seeing it in person next time I'm down that way.
The Last Blockbuster
The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA. We were planning a holiday to Portland this year and would've called in to the store on the trip.
Hopefully it'll still be there when it's once again safe to travel to the USA.
