Six Surrey Blockbuster Video stores in Surrey are closing down, as 146 stores across Canada are being sold under a court-sanctioned liquidation.
A receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd., is trying to sell the Canadian chain, which was forced into receivership due to the bankruptcy of its U.S. parent company. In total, 146 stores across Canada are being sold.
The Surrey stores that are closing include:
• South Surrey (2640 152 St.)
• Cloverdale (400-6466 176 St.)
• Nordel Crossing (143-12080 Nordel Way)
• Guildford Town Centre (10191 152 St.)
• Scott Road (7110 120 St.)
“We appreciate the ongoing support of Blockbuster Canada’s customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholderes during this period,” said Michael Creber on behalf of Grant Thornton Limited in a press release.
The move, which comes on the heels of Ocean Park’s Pacific DVD announcing plans to close in mid-June after 29 years in business, has at least one South Surrey movie renter wondering where Peninsula resident are going to turn to get their film fix.
“I was in (the South Surrey store) every day, or every couple days, so it’s a little upsetting,” said Phillip Falconberg.
With the increased popularity of online movie streaming on sites such as Netflix, movie-rental businesses are become a rare commodity – Rogers Video in White Rock and Video Works in Ocean Park have also been shuttered in recent years, while one Rogers location still exists at Peninsula Village.
And while online downloading and sites such as Netflix are alternatives for some, Falconberg wondered how seniors and others who may not be as tech-savvy will handle the dearth of rental options.
“A lot of people probably aren’t going to be very quick to jump on the Netflix bandwagon,” he said.
“So for anyone who wants to kick it old school and actually rent a movie, it’s going to be hard – suddenly 60,000 people here don’t have a video store to go to – they’ll end up having to go all the way to Cloverdale or Newton or somewhere.”
Inventory will be sold off at the closing Blockbuster outlets and gift cards will no longer be valid at those stores, but can still be redeemed at any of the other 250 stores that remain open.
