Last video rental store in Brisbane closes down
One of Brisbane’s last video rental stores described as a “diamond in the rough” is closing it’s doors.
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The days of scouring shelves of colourful DVD cases for a Friday night movie are coming to an end, with one of greater Brisbane’s last rental video stores set to close this month.
Leading Edge Video in Birkdale, 23km from the CBD, announced it’s shutting its doors on March 27 after almost 40 years in businesses, in a post on social media.
“It’s with a combination of nostalgia and gratitude that we announce the closing down of Leading Edge Video, Birkdale,” it wrote on Facebook.
The store, which opened in 1986, announced it would be holding a closing-down sale before seizing trade.
“Don’t throw away the popcorn yet. To clear our inventory, we’re running a BIG closing down sale with NOTHING OVER $0.50 CENTS!”
One person shared the sad news about the “old school” store in a post on Reddit.
“This is (one of) the last video shop in Brisbane which is sadly closing down at the end of the month, last chance to visit an old school video shop,” they wrote.
Another suggested the closure was “absolutely expected”.
“But not just for obvious reasons. I’ve been past there and tried to actually rent a video a few times but they never were open, the posters in the window were very old … and it already looked quiet packed up,” they claimed.
On Google Reviews, happy customers once described the 4.4 star store as a “diamond in the rough”.
“As one of the only video shops left this one is a diamond in the rough. The staff are always friendly and helpful going out of their way to assist you … I hope they stay for a long time to come,” one person wrote.
“Only DVD shop left, I’d rather hire a movie than download it,” said another.
The news comes just over a month after a family-run video rental store shut down in Western Australia after 40 years.
Store owners Khalead and Fadwa Assaad told the ABC their Kambalda video store was the last in the state, noting not many people needed advice on what movie to watch anymore.
“Now people don’t need people, they need Google,” Mrs Assaad told the publication.
Once a neighbourhood staple, video rental stores have been closing down across the country for a number of years.
According to the 2021 census, just 160 Australians are still employed in the video rental industry.
Even the industry body, the Australian Video Rental Retailers Association, folded in 2016.
However, despite the rise in streaming services, a few stores have managed to stand the test of time.
In Melbourne, Richmond’s Picture Search remains a cult favourite, while Galactic Video is still operating in Adelaide’s CBD.
News.com.au has contacted Leading Edge Video in Birkdale for comment.
Originally published as Last video rental store in Brisbane closes down
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