A DVD rental shop in 2024: T.V.L. Allstar Video in Haverhill

Finding a DVD movie rental shop in Haverhill, Suffolk.

It was amazing to find out about TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill and brilliant to hear that in 2024 they've been celebrating their 40th year in business.

While they no longer rent out VHS tapes they hold a library of around 8,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray, with new releases added to the collection on a weekly basis.

We've spent the last few years documenting the last traces of Blockbuster Video stores here in the UK, and we've found some other video shop signage on our travels. It's even better when we find a video shop that is still open for business!

Signs for the movie rental membership, and some of the other services provided at the shop

If you don't know what to rent, the team at TVL Allstar Video will be able to guide you to some of the top picks. Chatting with the owner and his colleague at the shop they told me how they've maintained a regular customer base over the years. This was evident in my short visit as there were several people through the door, it was excellent to see

There aren't many things better than holding an actual video shop rental membership card in your hands in 2024 - it's a link to another time!

A view of a small section of the rentals available at the shop

New releases are regularly added to the collection at TVL Allstar Video

I would've rented Beetlejuice Beetlejuice if I lived close enough to borrow and return it in time

Lovely to see rental stickers in the wild

A familiar sight back in the day

As well as film rentals, the shop has diversified over the years and now offers scratched disc repairs, a print shop, stationery, and UPS Parcels services.

Check out the TVL Allstar Video website for more information.

TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill is one of only a handful of video rental shops still operating in the UK. Long may it continue!

Lost Shops - Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire (May 2021)

Taking a look at the former Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

In 2021 the old sign at the former Blockbuster Video store on Regent Street in Nuneaton was uncovered when the tenant of the building moved out.

It was brilliant to see such a well maintained piece of signage - it looked like the store could've re-opened that day!

Blockbuster Video in the UK

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500-plus of those were in the UK.

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 last stores closed on the 16th December.

There are still some visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Check out the posts about former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Lost brands

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

The Blockbuster Video Store in Fallowfield, Manchester - Five Years On

A look back at the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

This is what was left of Blockbuster Video on Fallowfield Retail Park back in October 2019

I found the preserved remains of a 'dead brand' - Blockbuster Video - while in Manchester five years ago today!

It became the first of many former Blockbuster Video stores Emily and I travelled to once we found that there were still some other visible remains of the brand to be seen on high streets and at shopping centres around the UK.

Oh, what happened to this sign?

Dark clouds gathered over the brand in 2013

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video. 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.

On the visit to the old Fallowfield shop in October 2019 the Blockbuster Video store sign was prominently displayed on both sides of the main sign at Fallowfield Retail Park and the windows of the shop still retained Blockbuster signage.

A sign in the shop window

Most of the shelves inside had been removed, but the walls and desks clearly retained the brand colours of Blockbuster.

The window graphics still looked fresh

Clearly still recognisable as a Blockbuster on the inside

The shelves were bare

There is currently one independently owned franchise still operating as a Blockbuster Video in the USA and you can find it in Bend, Oregon.

Quik Drop box to nowhere

We made several more visits to the abandoned Blockbuster Video shop at Fallowfield Retail Park, including one last look as it was being demolished in January 2024.

Other Blockbuster Video stores

Here's a list and links to the other Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Independent video stores

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. While most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores, there are remnants of (and in some cases still operating) independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Video Express in Swansea
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Do you still have a video store near you?

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

I've been to two of the above, with Snips Movies on my to visit list in the future. Hopefully I'll be able to get a membership card for the shop too.

Do you have a favourite defunct brand? Are the remains of an old brand still visible near where you live or work? Do let me know.

A video rental shop in 2024: Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Spotting a video rental shop in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

What a sign to see

We recently visited family in Bury St Edmunds and on our drive out of the town we spotted a the sign for Northgate Video & DVD - a video rental shop!

This reminded me of small, independent video shops from back in the day

We've spent the last few years documenting the last traces of Blockbuster Video stores here in the UK, and we've found some other video shop signage on our travels. So it was brilliant to find Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds was still trading. Unfortunately it was a Bank Holiday so the shop wasn't open, but we're planning to visit next time we're in the area.

The inside of the video shop

Another angle of the inside

Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds is one of only a handful of video rental shops still in business in the UK. Long may it continue!

What film would you rent for 2 nights?

Toys R Us at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

A look at the site of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich, Norfolk in June 2024.

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

While the last of the original Toys R Us stores in the UK closed on the 24th April 2018 the brand returned to the UK in 2022 with an online presence, and further expanded in 2023 with the opening of nine concessions inside WH Smith.

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

We first visited the old Norwich Toys R Us store in August 2021, and returned in April 2022. On our visit last month the site was part way through being turned into a new Home Bargains store.

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

The location of the former Toys R Us store at Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Lost Toys R Us Stores

My book about Lost Toys R Us Stores is available to buy from Amazon.

There were once 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. The business ceased trading in 2018 and all of the shops closed.

It is still possible to find traces of the brand on some retail parks and shopping centres around the UK.

The book takes a look at some of those old stores between 2019 and 2021.

Buy Lost Toys R Us Stores on Amazon.

Happy Shopper shops

Looking back at our visits to Happy Shopper shops since 2020.

A Happy Shopper shop sign in Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk

We felt very nostalgic during the coronavirus pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.

A sign at the Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech (2021)

Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper in Ipswich and I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was growing up in Oxfordshire back in the 1980's and 1990's.

We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.

A Happy Shopper shop in Preston

Visiting a fully branded Happy Shopper shop is like stepping back in time

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper shops have since been rebranded as Premier shops.

You could still see the 'newer' Happy Shopper branding on Pleasant News in Wisbech in 2021

The shelves inside the store were still the classic orange and yellow design

Since spotting the old shop in Preston we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield in 2020

Here's a list of posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:

• Preston
• Sheffield (Sharrow Lane)
• Sheffield (Page Hall Road)
• Ilkeston
• Hitchin
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Ashwellthorpe
• Ormesby St Margaret
• Lowestoft (2011)
• Lowestoft (2021)
• Wisbech
• Sittingbourne
• Burton-on-Trent 1
• Burton-on-Trent 2

At the Happy Shopper shop on Chaucer Road in Sittingbourne

You can view my YouTube Playlist of Happy Shopper shop videos here.

Toys R Us at Gateway Retail Park in Reading

Spotting an abandoned Toys R Us store in Reading, Berkshire.

We were surprised to see an old Toys R Us store while driving through Reading back in September 2022.

The shop unit at Gateway retail park looked to be in great condition and most of the signage and branding was still on display.

This particular branch of Toys R Us was only open for five months before the brand ceased trading in the UK.

Toys R Us closed its UK operation in April 2018.

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby