Movies Worth Seeing : Initial Research

I journeyed to Movies Worth Seeing last night to gather some more information on the company and begin formulating more solid ideas for the overall image of the business. I was able to speak to Dave, who is the usual night shift worker and has been an employee there for about 10 years, and who gave me a little more insight into what they're all about. He told me that they have been in business since November of 1985. Basically the main thing keeping them afloat and well in business is the community. Located almost secretly behind a row of business in the highlands, one could easily pass by it without ever knowing it is there, which I'm sure is a common occurrence. The business faces a neighborhood street, free from the flow of regular traffic. They have a loyal following, and rightfully so. It's easy to spend hours perusing the labyrinth of titles, which are arranged in various formats of organization, from director, to genre, to decade. They even have a section labeled simply "James Bond."


Dave told me that their main competition right now is Netflix, for the fact that they have a complete stock of everything at any given time, while Movies Worth Seeing can only have so many of each title in stock. He stated that Blockbuster really wasn't a big threat to them, mainly because Movies Worth Seeing has SUCH a large selection and variety of movies to choose from, while places like Blockbuster are much more mainstream and limited. Movies Worth Seeing's collection includes foreign, classics, cult, experimental, documentaries, children's, and even a gay/lesbian section. One advantage they have over Netflix is the ability to find what you want and take it home with you right there and then, whereas with Netflix (unless the title you want happens to be instant-watch) you have to wait a day or two for the movie to come through the mail. And even if the film is available on instant-watch, you're either stuck sitting in front of your computer or laptop with plenty of viewing limitations, unless you are set up to watch videos from your computer on your TV/home system. I asked if Videodrome was any competition for Movies Worth Seeing, and Dave told me that they're almost like a sister store, although the two have no business affiliation with each other whatsoever. They send customers over to each other whenever need be. He said Videodrome differs in that they have a larger selection of anime videos, but that was about it.

Dave did not give off any air of "I'm-better-than-you," which one may tend to find at any sort of specialty store, be it music, books, antiques, etc. He was very honest about his movie know-how and (if any) lack thereof. He said he would rather watch a movie he loved 50 times than force himself to watch something he didn't want to. In that respect, Movies Worth Seeing is an inviting, no-pressure kind of place where you can wander at your leisure. It's almost library-like, with its winding shelves, and the only real noise comes from the one TV by the counter playing whichever movie they happen to choose at the time, which is much nicer than some other movie rental stores where you're bombarded with TV screens all over, flashing advertisements and previews, etc.What's also nice is that there are books at the counter for those of us who are not as well-versed in the world of movies as some others.



Dave said one thing they really haven't done over the years is change. Their business model has basically been the same for the almost 25 years they've been in business. He said only 2-3 years ago did they start up their website, which does has a very handy search function, but is very plain and simple. Their prices haven't changed much since they've been open either. Just recently they raised the 3-day rental price from $3 to $3.50, and lowered the daily "late" fee to $1 a day, which basically counts as an extended rental. There is very little signage, and what signage there IS is very modest. So, while I do want to update their image a bit, I don't want it to be a drastic change. It seems they've found their niche and are very comfortable in it, and are doing quite well for themselves.

As far as buzzwords, these are some I think fit the company:
Niche
Neighborhood
Lasting
Abundant
Modest
Eclectic

I couldn't leave without taking something home with me, so I signed up for an account and ended up renting a couple videos, which also gives me an excuse to go back and possibly chat with the owners or other employees (there are 2 other main employees besides Dave, so he told me). The owners are Anne and Jerry, originally from Jacksonville, FL. I don't know much else about their background or how they decided to open Movies Worth Seeing, but I hope to find that out soon!