Evolution of the UK Video Industry

Video Shops

Part 4 showcasing the history of our video shop in Stockport, Cheshire. It’s just after my 7th birthday in 1985! Things had become clearer for the video industry after the Video Recordings Act (VRA) was passed.

The British Board of Film Censors became the ‘British Board of Film Classification’ and were responsible for the classification of both cinema and tape releases. The certification system used before the VRA consisted of G, A, AA and X, but this was more a voluntary guidance system, than an enforced one.

New Certificates for the UK Video Industry

New certificates were issued: U, PG, 15 and 18, and all video releases after 1st September 1985 had to be correctly certified. Films released before this date had to be re-submitted for classification within the following three years. It became an offence for video rental shop owners to rent a tape to anyone below the specified age, with fines and prison sentences being handed out to those who ignored the new legislation.

After the video shop raids, Eric and our dad’s remained good friends and would help each other out where possible. In-store brochures were created for customers (shown above), and in-store POS was created and shared between the ex-partners.

Our dad’s had a special VCR which could re-record films and bypass the Macro-Vision copy protection. This came in handy between the ex-partners as films had become very expensive at £40-50 +VAT. So when a film had been damaged it could soon be fixed and ready to be rented again.

The Movie Centre Rebrand in 1986

We rebranded as ‘The Movie Centre‘ with a new logo and sign designed by my dad! Both sets of parents were overjoyed, but as kids we were more concerned with playing countless games of Way of the Exploding Fist on my rubber key Spectrum 48k!

Direct Competition Arrives 3 Months Later

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for our parents so far, but things were about to get serious! 3 months later in January 1986, a new rival video rental shop was due to be opened directly across the street! It was an impressive store too, much bigger, and it was spread over 2 floors.

The rival video store was to be called Diamond Video. Diamond used to operate as a mobile video library, and were subject to one of the video shop raids back in 1983, however only being convicted in May 1985.

Rumours had it, the owner of Diamond Video were going to use a bold tactic, to put all the other local video rental shops out of business within 12 months. These were quite worrying times as nobody knew the kind of impact this could have on the video rental shop. Luckily, this never happened, and by 1987 both Diamond and The Movie Centre were booming and expansion was once again on the cards.

Make or Break for The Video Rental Business

1987: The Ill-fated Slade Lane Video Shop, Manchester

In May 1987 a new shop in Levenshulme, Manchester was due to be opened, our dads’ were very optimistic. A large shop was fitted out with all the latest shelving and a very impressive 20ft curved counter – the centre-piece of the video shop.

Our families were all on holiday in Spain a few months after the new video rental shop had opened. Trade was steady, but not what our parents had hoped for.

Whilst on holiday our dad’s would phone the new video shop to see how thing’s were going. The staff at the shop reported great news, the takings had doubled – our parents were over the moon! Unfortunately, when we arrived home they soon realised this wasn’t the case. The staff had looked at takings from the store’s opening, and had the figures all wrong!

Our parents were deflated, the new store stayed open for another 6 months but was closed towards the end of 1987. How could 12 months change so quickly? 1987 was a bumper year for our store on Castle Street, affording our parents new cars, and multiple holidays abroad… 1988 was going to be very different indeed!

New Year, New Problems in 1988

The New Year started in sombre mood, the ill-fated new store with its £2,000 bespoke counter had cost us £15k, coupled with our parents over-indulgent spending, a decision had to be made. A tightening of the belts was needed, firstly a decision to sell off over 1,000 films and to discontinue selling and hiring computer games. Staff reductions and a more hands-on approach ensued.

Once the favoured store in the area, our dad’s had to roll up their sleeves again, as there were now 4 video rental shops within 500 yards of each other.

The selling-off of over 1,000 films , nearly 40% of the store’s stock, had hit hard. Our dads’ realised that with many stores in such a small area, a change of tact was needed… One night over a couple of beers at the local, it was decided that the video shop would stock less copy-depth of the bigger film titles, and focus on the variety of titles and genres to suit all tastes.

It was a decision that paid off, and by the end of 1988, things were looking good again. Takings were up, and the stock levels were rising. We were looking forward to 1989, it was looking like another bumper year… Or was it?

George Leaves the Video Industry in 1989

1988 had ended on a high, the last few months saw films like 3 Men and a Baby, Lost Boys, Robocop, Predator, and even the long-awaited video release of E.T. Business was up, and although still in debt, our dad’s felt like theirs and the shop’s fortunes had turned a corner.

The New Year started with some big films too – Fatal Attraction, Crocodile Dundee 2, Running Man all brought strong trade.

That’s when a friend of my dad’s at British Aerospace an opportunity to go back and work on a new project. It was an opportunity not to be turned down.

So, with The Bangles‘ ‘Eternal Flame‘ topping the charts, George left The Movie Centre in April 1989. Although agreeing to help out a couple of evenings a week.

By Summertime, the shop was very busy, business was going great. The shop’s stock was at bursting point, and was only getting bigger. Autumn brought some great films – A Fish Called Wanda, Die Hard and Cocktail. The shop was again the number 1 port of call for customers.

Tommy Stuart Takes Over Diamond Video

Diamond Video was going to be taken over after amassing huge debts. The person taking over owned one of the largest Video Wholesale Businesses in the country. Video Releases was owned by a guy called Tommy Stuart. In the Summer of 89, he had announced in the Video Industry Trade Magazines that he was to venture into the video rental market, and wanted 50 stores by 1991.

Trade at the back-end of 89 was fantastic, and my Uncle wasn’t too concerned with the competition, in fact, he was looking forward to it! Tommy Stuart took control of Diamond Video in late September, and named the store ‘Snappers Video’ before a total rebrand coming in 1990.