Time catching up with video store
After many dances with death, AroVideo is now at the stage that ‘‘only a miracle’’ can save its physical form.
The 33-year-old Wellington rental store opened in the halcyon days of the VHS, then enjoyed the rise and fall of the DVD, to then splutter its way into the online world and the proliferation of pirating.
Store owner Andrew Armitage in 2015 said it was ‘‘inevitable’’ online streaming sites would force his business to close.
But a groundswell of community support saved it.
By 2017 he came up with a novel way to keep the doors open, in which people could ‘‘adopt’’ a movie for $20 to $35.
In the wake of a quiet summer in 2019, which left the store in a ‘‘critical’’ condition, he came up with a subscription model where people could pay variable amounts to use the store.
By 2021, he ran a fair at the Aro Valley Community Hall selling donated DVDs to set up a streaming service, AroVision. It remains operational and online.
‘‘Short of a miracle, we have come to a point where it appears no longer viable for the AroVideo physical library to continue under the current model or at our current residence on Aro Street,’’ he said.
It was hoped the streaming service would supplement the physical store and collection but, on the current trajectory, that was years away from working.
Armitage said the store was ‘‘transitioning’’ more than closing.
Armitage applied to Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage for funding to permanently preserve the store’s 27,000 DVDs and VHS tapes. Public submissions on the application close on Sunday.