UNDER THREAT: Video Ezy Carlton Corner owner Becky Liu says most video stores are struggling.

Do the internet, pay television, and piracy threaten the end of the local video shop? Caroline King reports.

It's a ghost town, apart from a lone shop assistant who smiles and says "hi" from behind the counter.

Maybe it's just a quiet patch? Maybe loads of people have been streaming through?

The shop assistant says it's been a slow night.

It's not from lack of foot traffic. Outside is bustling and it's a struggle to find a car park.

Admittedly, the site hasn't looked this busy in a long time - people drawn back by the reopened Carlton Hotel and Burger King.

Video Ezy Carlton Corner owner Becky Liu hopes the return of the businesses may entice customers back through her doors.

Liu has tried everything to attract customers following the quakes. She's slashed prices and put up signs but despite her attempts, the number of people walking in has dwindled.

"I can tell you, [video stores] they're all struggling," she said.

"Everyone is just trying to survive."

The quake, coupled with the recession, took its toll on Liu's business, as it had others in the city.

Determined, Liu held on to hope that trade would improve when the central city was rebuilt. Two years on, that hope is fading.

She reduced her opening hours to cut costs but was still struggling and made the hard decision to sell after three years in the business.

Downloading movies off the internet and pay per view channels "definitely had some impact" but Liu felt the biggest blow was that "the city is gone", and that for many people "money is tight".

Liu said when she first took over the business, profits were good. Now, the margin was low.

"For a small business like us we couldn't really survive. We were struggling, but we kept hoping and we just kept fighting . . . every day is a struggle to keep open."

Yet, other store owners say they are coping.

United Video Edgeware owner Brian Ronan said his store had seen growth of about 5 per cent in the past year.

The store has faced its own challenges, closing for 18 months following the February 2011 earthquake.

Ronan conceded that overall the industry in New Zealand was probably down about 5 to 10 per cent.

So will there always be video stores?

"Always is a big ask. I hope there always will be," he said.

"I think there's too many video stores everywhere. I think there will be some who won't be able to survive but the larger stores that have a big variety . . . and best operating in the best areas . . . will always survive."

Alice in Videoland owner Jeremy Stewart is confident his store will be the "last one standing" in Christchurch.

"The way I see it, it's inevitable that all those shops will close. There won't be any left in 10 years with the way technology is now. Hopefully, we'll still be around with the collection."

The collection took 25 years to amass and the cinema offered a "point of difference", Stewart said.

United Video general manager Lindsay Hall said piracy, which had become "rampant" in New Zealand over the last three years, was the industry's "No 1 threat".

"That's what's hitting us. Netflix and Sky [Television] . . . we can compete with."

Hall felt the three-strike legislation to combat illegal downloading had "very little teeth".

The system of sending the warnings, at a cost of $75, was not workable as there were about 250,000 illegal downloads a month in New Zealand, he said.

A rethink was needed or "at the end of the day it will decimate the industry over a period of time".

Video Ezy New Zealand joint managing director Russell Clark agreed piracy, and the economic downturn, had hurt the industry.

Some stores simply needed to "lift their game" to compete with the increased competition, he said.

He believed those still operating as they did just as little as five years ago "may as well close". "They've got to think competitively," he said.

NEW FORMAT

A selection of Press readers' comments on why they visit the video store, or don't:

"No, just wait till it hits Sky [Television]."

"We still go - it's a treat for the kids to go down there and pick movies for movie nights."

"I used to go all the time, at least once or twice a week. I stopped last year because downloading became much easier and I don't watch DVDs any more, only Blu-rays."

"I go once a week, sometimes twice, I'll always get at least two movies, it's one of my most visited businesses, according to my Kiwibank lists, over $700 spent in the last 12 months!"