Coventry's Vidstar Video ends 26-year run
After nearly 27 years in Coventry Village, Vidstar Video – the last independent video store in the Heights area – is closing for good.
Its last day will be Dec. 31, according to owner Les Groynom. Until then he’s liquidating inventory while continuing to rent videos, and he’s thanking long-time customers for going out of their way to support local merchants. The last new release, according to Vidstar’s Facebook fan page, will be The Hangover.
“I’ve rehearsed this answer,” Groynom said, when asked why he decided it was time to close. “I’m still not sure I know what to say…. We’ve been losing money for the last two years. It’s just too much to continue with the erosion of our customer base.”
The main cause is competition – not from other video stores anymore, but from other business models: Netflix, which provides movies by mail; cable television movies-on-demand; and most recently, the dollar-a-night Red Box video kiosks at area grocery stores.
A contributing factor is the high cost of a storefront in Coventry Village – a point, ironically, that would seem to speak to the retail district’s overall health.
“I can’t fault the landlord; he’s been pretty cooperative,” Groynom said. “But it is pretty high rent here in Coventry Village-slash-Beachwood Place.”
Vidstar Video premiered in March 1983; Groynom funded it with a second mortgage on his house. Receipts took off “because of the oddity of being able to watch movies on TV,” he said. Other stores cut into revenue during the mid-90s; at one point, Vidstar was bracketed by video stores at Cedar-Fairmount, Lee and Meadowbrook, Severance Center, Cedar-Center and Mayfield near Warrensville.
But as Blockbuster and other large chains squeezed out many independents, Vidstar had a second strong run from 1996 through about 2003, he said.
At its peak, revenue hit $400,000 and Groynom figures Vidstar was one of the top-grossing video stores in the country on the basis of sales-per-square-foot.
“It’s always been profitable until the last two years,” he said. “I guess I lasted past my predicted demise.”
After closing, he’s not sure what he’ll do; possibly sales or consulting.
Groynom lived in Cleveland Heights for 50 years before recently moving to Pepper Pike. He grew up on Lancashire – down the block from Vidstar’s location.
Bob Rosenbaum is a Cleveland Heights resident and a 20-year customer of Vidstar Video.