Forest Hill Network Video to close for final time next week

A FOREST HILL video store has finally given up its fight against the inevitable and will close next week — but its owner has warned that the shift to internet streaming is leaving one part of society behind.

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THE internet has killed one of Whitehorse’s last remaining video stores.

Forest Hill Network Video at Brentford Square will close this week.

Owners Bright and Cindy Hu, from Vermont, have been a part of the Brentford Square community for five years, but with fewer customers than ever before and their lease ending soon, the pair decided now was the time to finish up.

“It’s really quite sad, you know,” Mr Hu said.

“There aren’t many video stores left in the area.”

Bright Hu says the closure of video stores is leaving some older people in the lurch. Picture Stuart Milligan

Forest Hill Network Video is selling off its thousands of DVDs. Picture: Stuart Milligan

He said his industry was just one of many suffering from disruption caused by the internet.

“For young people, the internet is great, they can get what they want when they want, but for older people the internet is still a bit difficult for them.

“They may not know how to download a movie, so that’s why they come to us,” Mr Hu said.

“I don’t know where they can go after we close.”

The video shop has a dozen shelves stacked with thousands of DVDs, and all of them are now up for sale.

The most popular movies to be rented out from the store are two of the biggest film franchises in history, according to Mr Hu.

“Star Wars and Harry Potter are the most popular — everyone loves them whether it’s children or adults, they’re movies for the whole family,” he said.

“Personally I like anything with Tom Hanks, I think he’s a great actor, so I really like Forrest Gump.”

He said too many new releases focus on the wrong things.

“Many of my customers say they don’t like these kind of movies and are fed up with stories about the DC and Marvel (super) heroes — while the special effects might be very good, the story itself is lacking.”

The store will close next Wednesday but Mr Hu said people could still pop by in the following days.

“We really want to thank all of our customers over the years, many of whom have become our friends,” he said.

“We’re sorry we can’t be here anymore.”