After closures of stores in Alaska in 2018 the Bend, Oregon Blockbuster became the last store in the USA and now it’s just Morley and Bend fighting video piracy and the surge of subscription streaming services like Netflix. Walking into the store dredges up a deep nostalgia without the "dead man walking" dread of empty shelves and stained carpets other Perth stores had in their final gasp. Tale of the tape It’s not just the digital revolution Morley Blockbuster has weathered. In 2012, a tornado tore through the suburb and obliterated half of the store but owners Lyn and John Borszeky resurrected it from the mess of broken glass and twisted metal — a testament to their dedication to the video rental industry.

The Borszekys have been involved in the industry for nearly 30 years and have owned various Perth Blockbuster stores including one in the nearby suburb of Mt Lawley, another in Victoria Park and one in Yokine. The Yokine store burnt down in 2007 and rather than rebuild they decided to buy the Morley store 10 years ago, getting it for cheap after it went into receivership. The Morley store has lost a huge chunk of customers aged 15 to 30, but it is still averaging about 25 new members a week, so what is the special formula? Ms Borszeky said it was a combination of factors. “We have a great location and we’ve got a good landlord who has been very supportive as well," she said.

“We’ve still got the customer support. We have good loyal customers and we’ve picked up a lot of customers from other stores that have closed. “A lot just love movies and want to talk about them but there are a lot of people too that really just want to keep a small business going.” Blockbuster Morley conjures nostalgia for anyone who rented videos when they were younger. Credit:Hamish Hastie Ms Borszeky said, like the old days, new releases are still the most popular. “Customers mostly come in to get the new releases because you can’t get them on Netflix but TV series are very popular as well,” she said.

“Our package deals, and the 10 day movies still go out as well.” Fame, I’m gonna live forever The Bend, Oregan store is embracing its fame as the last Blockbuster in the USA by selling shirts and other memorabilia but Morley won’t be following suite. “We haven’t gone down that track,” Ms Borszeky said. “People have taken photos out the front of the store. Customers will come with friends from overseas and they would say, ‘oh my god, there is still a Blockbuster’.

“It wasn’t until two weeks ago that we knew we would be the last one in Australia when we found out the Toowomba store was closing, it has all been a bit crazy. “We’ve stuck to what we know and because we’ve been in the industry nearly 30 years we know what works and I work in the business and we keep an eye on things. “We like to think we manage it well enough to watch the costs and the way things are running.” While this newfound fame has led to more customers, the utter devastation the industry has experienced at the hand of the digital revolution still saddens Ms Borszeky. “It’s been good for business and I suppose we feel proud that we’ve lasted the distance but it is still sad because we’ve watched all our other Blockbuster friends close their doors and walk away,” she said.

Loading “It was a big family, we had a meeting every month and conferences every year so it was really fun back in the day. “For us too, we’ve closed two stores and it’s not easy when we bought those stores and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. “We thought we would be selling and funding our retirement but technology caught up with us and it didn’t turn out that way and a lot of people didn’t come out very well so that’s very sad.” Rise of the machines