SUNDRE - While the owner of Centre Street Video knew that brick and mortar movie rental stores in the digital age of multiple streaming platforms faced an uphill battle, she had nevertheless hoped to hang on a little longer.
“To be brutally honest, we knew it was coming eventually. There was no way this would last forever,” said Cassie Milewicz, who last week announced her plan to close the store, which in its current location opened more than five years ago.
“I’m just bowing out before it gets to the point where it’s desperate,” Milewicz said candidly during an interview, adding that she had previously wanted to continue on for at least another year or two.
“It’s just unfortunate that it’s happening sooner than we’d hoped.”
Since December she has been mulling over the difficult decision, which she did not make lightly. Revenues, she elaborated, seemed to drop almost instantly in conjunction with the launch of the new streaming platform Disney+.
“It seems like when Disney started their streaming service, we took a noticeable hit,” she said.
“We could compete with Netflix,” she said, adding new title releases are not typically available on that platform right away, making the rental option appealing to some customers.
“But we cannot compete with Disney. And I understand — people have a limited amount of money to spend on entertainment. You go where you get the best bang for your buck.”
She expressed sympathy for loyal, longtime customers, many of whom — like herself — do not have access to a consistent and reliable high-speed internet connection.
“Not everyone has good internet,” she said, adding that base of clientele “was what kind of allowed us to be viable.”
The decision to close, she stressed, had nothing to do with overhead costs, and added the rent was reasonable and the landlord great.
“I’m sure somebody will take over this bay once we’re done at the end of March.”
The primary factor driving the decision was just not getting enough people through the doors, she said.
“You need a steady flow.”
The summer months were more manageable, with an increase in business from campers coming through town. But the winter months, especially with the launch of Disney+, simply became unsustainable, she said.
“Disney was the nail in the coffin. Maybe I’m reading that wrong, but when Disney launched, we noticed a visible difference in renting.”
Looking back, Milewicz expressed no regrets.
“We gave it a good run,” she said, expressing gratitude for patrons who frequented the store.
“We’ve had long-term, steady customers.”
But things change, and she also said she understands people have limited incomes and will therefore spend where they get the most value.
“Renting is good, but the streaming services just offer more for less,” she said, adding the caveat, “If you have the internet capacity.”
Above and beyond the customers she’s enjoyed serving over the years, she also laments the loss of three jobs.
“I’ve had the same three employees since I opened. We’ve all worked together since the old video store,” she said.
“I don’t want to lay people off. That’s the worst part of it all.”
While she’ll miss chatting with customers about movies, Milewicz said “letting people go is a bad feeling.”
Looking ahead to once the doors close at the end of March, she expressed a desire to “take a mini vacation. Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll be job hunting with everybody else.”
She said that although it is yet to be determined, a new location for the Purolator package pickup service offered through her store will be picked and announced with plenty of notice.
“I’ll let everybody know.”
Again reiterating her appreciation for the customers who have helped to keep the store open for all these years, Milewicz said, “I wish we could have stayed open longer for them.”
Unfortunately, she said times are evolving rapidly, with technology taking over many aspects of life.
“Brick and mortar stores seem to be going the way of the dinosaurs. Everything is changing,” she said.
“There’s so much more availability of services and entertainment online, that it’s become a juggernaut.”
