OP STORY f here’s a video war shaping up in the Greater Victoria area. The opening salvo fired in the battle was the recent startup of Vancouver Island’s first video “su- perstore.” Mega Movies recently opened for business on Quadra Street, introduc- ing a new Style of video marketing here. Just when you thought there was a video store on every corner and the market was approaching satura- tion, the superstore, as large as many small-town supermarkets, is making its appearance. While Mega Movies is the first super- store on the 66 T haven't local scene, had to give there are out this more to follow. Three of Mega ae : Movies’ main 12 ormation competitors SINCce they Hae they put me ave expan- =. -1 Bin plane image 99 that include the Greater Victoria area. A quick count reveals there are already more than 50 businesses in the Greater Victoria area whose sole trade is the rental of video cassettes and ma- chines. This doesn’t include gas bars and convenience stores that offer tape rentals. Video rental outlets seem to be everywhere, from the ma-pa opera- tions at the corner to the larger outlets at major shopping centres. How the introduction of the super- stores will influence exsisting busi- nesses and your video habits remains to be seen. Mega Movies is “mega” in every sense of the word. With 7,000 square feet of floor area and more than 10,000 titles, the company has en- tered the market in a big way. Eliza- beth Upham, manager of the new Victoria store, says service and con- venience are the keys to the compa- ny’s operation. Despite the large size, the store aims to offer personalized service to keep the customers coming back. Mega Movies opened just before Christmas and to date, the response has been “phenomenal” said Upham. New customers have been clamoring to sign on as members, despite having to provide extensive credit and securi- ty information before a membership card is granted. “Jeez, | haven't had to give out this much information since they put me in jail,” groused one man who never- theless joined a lineup 10-deep on a recent Friday night to have a Polaroid picture taken for his plastic identity card. Pilferage is a major problem for -Video store patron VIDEO WAR SHAPING UP TOP: Elizabeth Upham, manager of the recently-opened Mega Movies on Quadra Street. says Greater Victoria residents appear to like the concept of video rental superstores. She says business has been great. BOTIOM LEFT: Supervisor Charles Leong is framed in chrome bars of store's security system. Electronic detectors sound alarm when video tapes take an unauthorized walk. BOTIOM RIGHT: Assistant manager Marlene Williams displays video tape dust jacket which explains Mega Movies’ pricing and returns policy. FRONT PAGE: The time span between the premiere of a movie at the theatre and its release on video is getting shorter and shorter. Charles Leong and Stephanie Hanford are pictured with display promoting the video release Of Honey, | Shrunk the Kids, which hit the big screen only a few months ago. video store operators and with video cassettes priced as high as $100 a copy, it’s understandable operators want to keep close tabs on their merchandise. The loss of a video ma- chine can also be a setback so Mega Movies is careful to get as much information on their customers as possible to avoid loss through theft. Other major component of the store’s security program are the detectors placed at the entrance to the store. “Walk out with a video cassette that hasn’t been paid for and an alarm goes off. ~ Despite the added securi- ty, not many people com- plain. Upham, who moved to Victoria from Port Coqui- tlam to run the store, said. people here don’t seem to mind the ex- tra precau- tions. The Victoria Mega Movies store is the sixth for the company which operates under the corporate name Video Two Ltd. Its other locations are in Surrey, Vancouver, Clearbrook, Port Coqui- tlam and Calgary. Soon the company will open its seventh store - a second outlet in Calgary. Rob Thornton, vice- president and general manager of Video Two Ltd. said the company is also planning to open in Lethbridge, Alta. The short term plan is to have a dozen stores in operation by Septem- ber. The company is “doing OK” said Thornton, despite the fact that it is in an expansion mode and doesn’t have the capital that some of its main competitors have. While a 7,000 square foot retail premise to rent movies may look like overkill to some Islanders, Mainlan- ders have long ago accepted monster video stores. Mega Movies’ Port Co- quitlam operation 1s 8,000 square feet and the next store the chain builds will likely be larger than 10,000 square feet. (For those who need a comparison, a house of 2,000 square feet is considered a good size.) Larger stores and more outlets seems to be the trend in video rentals, but Mega Movies has a long way to go before it comes close to other chains in Western Canada. Rogers Video, the video rental wing of the cable giant Rogers Entertainment Ltd., has 67 stores in total but none on the Island . . . yet. There are persistent rumors that Rogers plans to open four super stores in the Greater Victoria area but Continued on Page 10 66 The response to our opening here has been nothing short of phenomenal 99 -Superstore manager