The shrill sound of a ringing phone, beep of a barcode scanner, clicking of keyboard keys and slamming of cash-register drawers provide the soundtrack for Jason Werner’s workday at Premiere Video.
From his post behind the front desk, he has full reign over the stacks of films, games and novelties that line the walls and shelves of the 15-year-old video rental store. Werner, a manager who has been employed by Premiere Video, 284 E. State St., for the past 10 years, sees the writing on the wall: Video rental stores are fading fast, their demise hastened by the rising popularity of rental services such as Redbox and online entities like Netflix.
“It’s definitely a changing market,” Werner said. “I doubt there will be any video stores maybe in 10 years.”
Consumer spending on video is in the midst of a seven-year downturn, despite a modest $18 billion bump in 2012 sales that carried over into the first quarter of 2013, according to a report by the Entertainment Merchants Association. Most in the movie rental industry, however, are still conscious that its future is bleak.
They aren’t as much divided on how to slow its demise as they are hunkering down to continue stocking the latest cinematic hits while they can. Their remedy is simple — do what they’ve always done, stocking movies and hoping customers keep seeking them out.
Old Faithfuls
One such customer is Ed Fisher, an Athens resident who has been frequenting Premiere Video “pretty much daily” since a number of other area rental stores went out of business in the late 2000s. He tends to gravitate toward thought-provoking films, he said — everything from lesser-known documentaries to smash TV series Breaking Bad — and he swears he doesn’t have his own Premiere Video waiting list despite having rented “thousands” of films there. Though he is a self-proclaimed movie buff, not everything he rents is to his liking.
“Of those thousands that I’ve rented, I certainly wouldn’t say that I’ve watched them all,” Fisher said.
“At least 10 minutes,” Werner interjected from the other side of the checkout counter. “Time is valuable. You don’t want to just watch any old garbage.”
In that same vein, Premiere Video management has made a conscious effort to only offer products customers seek when they come to the store. The same “value-added” products — records, books and electronics — that keep large independent stores bustling have doomed a number of Athens-area retailers.
Seven-year employee Isaac Slater said Premiere Video employees have been there to watch, documenting exactly what the store didn’t want to do, while at least five competitors went out of business.
“A lot of these places, when we did competitor analysis, we would go there and they would have brand-new Blu-Rays on sale for $40,” Slater said. “It’s like, ‘What are you going to do with those?’ Because no one’s going to buy them, right?”
Instead, Premiere Video has focused on its bread — er, kernels — and butter, renting games and movies, selling surplus stock for little more than pocket change and peddling candy and soft drinks near the checkout counter. Employees also prioritize customer service and family-friendly specials.
A Personal Touch
Slater is the storewide pop culture aficionado, and Werner has viewed his fair share of Premiere Video’s 10 to 15 thousand movie collection. Between the two and several Ohio University student workers, they can handle just about any far-reaching question that’s flung their way — something customers appreciate.
“That guy up there, he has always been very helpful to me since I’ve been coming here,” said Derrick Mason, motioning in Werner’s direction while combing the store’s west wall. “If I can’t remember a movie but I can remember the actor, he’ll help me find which movie I’m looking for. Even if I may not be able to name it, he helps me out.”
Customer service, Werner and Slater said, is king. Without it, many of their regulars might instead rent from their kiosk competitors. Still, Mason, a Columbus resident and Hocking College student, said he heads to Redbox when he wants to grab a movie late at night or only needs it for a couple hours, but relies on the rental store when he’s looking to score several films or a free children’s movie. Werner agrees that each pick-up rental entity has carved a worthy place in the entertainment market — at least for now.
“I think there’s definitely room for both,” he said. “If you want to spontaneously, ‘Oh, I want to watch The Hangover,’ all of a sudden, you can come and grab it from us. If you do the other stuff, they can both fit.”
Hidden Gems
Premiere Video’s games and adult sections account for smaller portions of its inventory, which employees liquidate once it becomes outdated. A table containing movie specials recently included titles ranging from Bruce Willis’ 2012 flop Lay the Favorite ($.95), to an uncensored cut of Jersey Shore: Season One ($7.95) and seven copies of Academy Award-winning war thriller Zero Dark Thirty ($3.95 apiece.) Variety keeps customers loyal, Slater said. Although Premiere Video lacks some rare films, it has the most sought-after cinematography from the last several decades.
“Where do you find these great works of art? Netflix doesn’t have them. Hulu doesn’t have them,” Slater said.
“Between here and the two movie theaters in town, I think everyone pretty much gets the best of what this region has to offer.”
That, compounded with the fact that many in Athens County have spotty or outdated home Internet setups, thus diminishing their ability to stream content wirelessly, is another reason Werner said Premiere Video is still successful. Blockbuster — which had 9,000 storefronts in 2004, including one on State Street — announced in November it would shutter its final 300 brick-and-mortar locations.
“Consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” said Joseph P. Clayton, president and chief executive officer of DISH, Blockbuster’s parent company in a statement.
Students such as Leah Keiter, a freshman studying journalism, tend to gravitate toward that trend, renting online, from kiosks or for free from Alden Library.
Much of students’ reasoning for doing so, she said, is simplicity and being able to watch at their own pace.
“You don’t have to go anywhere,” she said of streaming content online. “It doesn’t have to be a huge event to watch a movie. I like watching TV shows condensed — I like to watch a lot of hours at once. If I don’t watch more than one episode in a sitting, I’ll never watch it again.”
In the clear — for now
Students account for a small fraction of Premiere Video’s visitors, Werner said. He also said that the store is debt-free and that he doesn’t think his job will be in jeopardy anytime soon. Business is “sustainable” for the time being, though he did acknowledge that it will likely experience a “steeper and steeper drop” as time passes. For now, he’s content providing Athens folks with films they want — “foul weather friends” this time of year. For those like Fisher, such films aren’t as much a relaxing step back from life but a way to contemplate it.
“It’s kind of weak. I mean, why are you watching somebody else’s life?” he said. “It’s entertainment, but there’s far more serious things to be contemplating than entertainment.”
Like the demise of an industry, for example. But then again, falling market shares and new avenues for film consumption haven’t shuttered Premiere Video as of yet.
“We keep it basic, and we haven’t went beyond our needs,” Werner said. “I think that’s a large reason why we’ve stayed in there.”
@Jimryan015
jr992810@ohiou.edu
