It's no secret. Video stores are an endangered species these days. Between pirates and virtual media salesmen there aren't many customers left over for the humble rental store. One by one, they have been selling off stock, and shutting up shop across the country.



But there's a rebellion going on in Hamilton. Finn Puklowski is leading the charge. He is convinced that death isn't the only option. Adapting is. And Puklowski thinks he has just the recipe needed to coax customers and their cash back the way of bricks and mortar rental stores.



If anyone has a shot at saving the video store, it's him. Puklowski's family owns the United Video at 2 Norton Road- the first United Video franchise in New Zealand. They've been in business for 25 years, and have built up a collection of other successful businesses based around eCommerce and social media over the years too.



It's a critical combination of skills. After all, says Puklowski, if you want to build a successful brand and business model these days "you have to have an integrated ecommerce model".



That's why, in the face of what he says is a 50 per cent market contraction across New Zealand's video stores in the last five years alone, Puklowski doesn't believe the end is nigh.



Change is. And it is change he has convinced his franchisor, Hamilton head quartered United Video, to roll out across every one of the roughly 80 stores nation-wide willing to make the change.



So far, between 10 and 15 United Video stores (mostly in the South Island) have decided to follow his lead. They will become combined United Video and Game Flip stores; offering dvd rental, as well as a gamer trading post. Punters will be able to sell or buy games via an online site, or by coming into store. For those who choose to pop in, there will be a rental option, as well as a fanwear, geekwear, anime and cosplay merchandise section to browse.

And yes. This all means the Hamilton lad will be going head to head - almost - with the biggest multichannel video game retailer in the world; EB Games. But, says Puklowski, there's a very good reason for doing so.

Kiwi's spent a record $347 million on gaming last year, according to Interactive Games & Entertainment Association statistics. In-store games and consoles made up $130 million of that, while digital sales were at $217 million.

Ina Fassbender Visitors play the "World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor" video game at the Blizzard Entertainment exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2014 fair in Cologne. Gaming sales are seeing no slow down globally.

Gaming revenues "are growing, and they're growing significantly around the world," says Puklowski.



"You have had the addition of online applications, but the core of their revenue is still coming from selling the game."



That is despite a 5 per cent decrease in domestic retail spend on entertainment last year according to Retail NZ figures. In other words, the gaming market is huge, and Puklowski believes there may just be a few holes in it.



While EB Games offers to buy second-hand games, it only gives customers store credit - not cash - which Puklowski says Game Flip will.



It also doesn't offer a rental service, which is in-built into Game Flip through United Video stores. In fact, that's one of the benefits, says Puklowski. United Video already has a million-strong customer base across the country.



As he puts it, Game Flip is "really adding assets to your business ... you're slowly building up inventory and creating a model that's already complementary to people walking through the door".

As for the merchandising element, Puklowski says involvement in the Armageddon Expo through another of his companies proved "when you centralise all of that merchandise and that type of industry into one space you get a humongous retail spend".

"There is this entire segment of the market that is completely undercatered in New Zealand".

Bruce Mercer Katie Trigg gets into Cosplay at the 2014 Armageddon Expo in Hamilton.

Armageddon Expo organiser Bill Geradts agrees with him. He says there is a "multi-million dollar spend" in sci-fi and fantasy events and products, with minimal bricks and mortar retail offering.

At Armageddon's Auckland Expo alone, punters fork out "a couple of million dollars plus" he says, with spend an "ongoing, growing thing". While the products are available online, nothing compares to being able to touch a product, or see what it looks like on you says Geradts.

But, there is a catch.

"You have to make sure that you're not just profiting from it, but trying to understand it," Geradts says.

"It does require a bit of geekdom in the blood to really get it."

And initial trials suggest Puklowski does get it. Revenue at his Hamilton store has hiked 30 per cent since Game Flip was introduced in late January, and it's translating to "pretty decent profitability".

It's enough, he thinks, to keep those willing to reinvent the humble video store going for the foreseeable future.

Besides, the alternative isn't great. As far as Puklowski is concerned, it's adapt or die.