Page M10 February 14, 1990, This Week TOP STORY Continued from Page 3 company president David Bennett de- clined comment when asked for de- tails. When contacted by This Week at the company’s head office in Calgary, Bennett would only say that his firm is “very interested” in the Victoria market. He wouldn’t say if his compa- ny is actively looking for a place to build in Greater Victoria “but we would like to come there.” The firm now operates stores in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Van- couver. It has 15 locations in Vancouv- er and Bennett said the company will soon have 30 stores in that city. He said all Rogers outlets are 6,000 square feet or larger. He calls a “super store” anything larger than 5,000 square feet. Bennett refused to comment on competitors such as Mega Movies other than to say “theyll do very well there (in Victoria).” While Rogers is the giant in Cana- da, even that company’s supremacy could be challenged. The U.S.-based Block Busters Video appears poised to storm the country in a big way. At this writing, the company, which sees it- self as the McDonald’s of the video rental business, had 1,150 stores world wide but the numbers are changing daily. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based giant opened 500 stores in 1989 - an average of 1.5 per day - and recently opened its first Cana- dain store in Calgary. Scott Watson, a partner in the Calgary franchised operation said the company plans to open many more stores here and wants to run “the best darned video stores in Canada.” The average size of a Block Busters Video store is 6,500 square feet. All video rentals from Block Buster stores are on a three-day basis. Block Buster will soon open in Edmonton, Vancouver and other, unspecified Canadian cities. “There are many more on the way. We're far from being finished opening opening stores in Canada,” said Wat- son in a Texas drawl. The 24 Hour Video chain has 94 stores in total with three in the Greater Victoria area - Langford, Es- quimalt and downtown Victoria. Crazy Mikes, with its head office in Victoria boasts a total of 52 stores - both company-owned and franchised outlets. Crazy Mikes took off in 1983 when its three-store operation was bought out by brothers Saied and Sarhad Rohani who had operated a small store called the Victoria Video Gallery VIDEO W. FAST EDDIE ROBINSON says business has never been better at his Quadra Street video rental outlet, despite the fact that the first of the video superstores to Open here recently mOved in across the street. Eddie is hoping loyalty and extra service will keep patrons coming back to his family operation. Story and photos by TONY KANT since 1981. The brothers haven’t looked back. Last year, the company went on extensive expansion binge opening 26 new stores. The company - has outlets in every major city in the province and has now entered the Alberta and Washington State mar- kets. The square footage of their video outlets hasn’t been a major considera- tion for the Rohani brothers to date but Saied, vice-president, of the com- pany, told This Week property has already been purchased for a 10,000 square foot video outlet and “enter- tainment centre,” likely some time this year. Few people are speculating on how many of the smaller video shops will manage when put up against competi- tion such as Mega Movies, Rogers and Block Busters. Ironically, it has been the small video rental racks in corner stores that were once the bread and BARRISTERS PERSONAL INJURY? If you are in an accident involving personal injury, seek professional advice BEFORE you see the ICBC adjuster. Receive consultation from a lawyer, 24 hours a day. 384.1040 PRIVATE, PROFESSIONAL, PROBLEM SOLVERS MORAHAN &e butter of Video Two, a Vancouver- based company that counts Mike Reno of Loverboy fame among its shareholders. The company was es- tablished six years ago, primarily asa video cassette broker, buying used cassettes and distributing them in a “racking” business that serviced 250 locations from Winnipeg west. When the various studios that produce mov- ies started to get involved in the distribution of their own product, the market started to disappear and the company made the decision to enter the video rental business with its own stores. Video Two Ltd. introduced a new concept to the business, brought here by one of its shareholders, Phil Brown, a Victoria native who had lived in Australia and had been in- volved in the video rental business for five years. In Australia, video stores rent movies by the week, not by the AUJLA SOLICITORS Recycle This Newspaper day as has been the practice in Cana da. It was a feature Video Two decide to incorporate into its formula here. Video cassettes at Mega Movies, othe than those on the “new release” rack are rented out on a weekly basis. The price for the weekly rental of a movie iS comparable to the daily rate at many video rental outlets. It’s even cheaper when you rent a number of, movies at one time. Seven movies rented for seven days at Mega Movies costs $11. The price includes the tax. Seven-day rental is definitely at- tractive to frequent renters who can’t be bothered visiting the video store every day for their video fix. “Our seven day a week policy brings people in from the surrounding are-. as,” said Upham. “It’s nice to be able | to come into town or whatever and take the movie for seven days know- ing they don’t have to rush back. That’s attractive to people who live a little further away. I think that if we didn’t have seven-day rental, it wouldn't be as attractive to people. It’s sometimes tough on people, when they're working, to have to rush back the next day.” Upham said a 6 p.m. return time for movies, later than most, and a through-the-door drop slot makes it even handier for the customers. Seven-day rentals are also much appreciated by families with young children, said Upham. All children’s movies rent for 99 cents per week and € it’s not unusual for children to watch the same movie several times during the course of a week. Crazy Mike’s Saied Rohani Says Mega Movies’ seven-day rental policy is “just a gimmick” and he wouldnt consider instituting such a practice. “Most of the people renting a movie would probably watch them the first day and bring them back right away anyway.” Rohani said the opening of the new Mega Movies outlet here hasn’*t had any affect on his business but it has probably helped expand _ the video rental market somewhat by creating a greater public awareness. Rohani said his company intends to stay on its present course. It will continue to offer its “Munch Card” a system that rewards frequent renters with lower prices. He said his compa- ny will continue to offer 88 cent and 99 cent specials from time to time. Just across Quadra Street from the imposing Mega Movies location, “Fast Eddie” Robinson is straightening out the tapes on the racks of his modest movie rental store.” He says the up- town style of the Mega Movies store Continued on Page 11 LEARN TO DRIVE THIS YEAR Next Course Sitaris |_ Victoria | March 1st 9:30 a.m./6:30 p.m. March 3rd _ 9:30 a.m. | Colwood | March 1st. 6:30 p.m. YOUNG DRIVERS OF CANADA 382-4822 couooo 474-1422 | FULL COURSE OF SINGLE LESSON » Private in-car instruction « Course fee tax deductuble ° Special attention to nervous people « We'll help you obtain a drivers licence.