Business Spotlight: Local video rental store not only survives, but thrives

In a city filled with chain stores, it seems hard to believe that a privately owned video rental store could survive. Showcase Movies has, however, and it's flourishing.

"I think we're one of a handful of independent video rental stores in the city," owner Kirsten Gardner said. "One of the ways we've managed to stay competitive is by catering to a niche market of movie lovers who are interested in independent and hard-to-find films."

Movie lovers who come to Showcase Movies can find new releases, including action films, children's and family titles, Christmas movies, cult films, documentaries, foreign films, horror flicks, local films and a wide selection of independent films.

The store also carries Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation, and Nintendo 64 video game rentals, as well as several hundred movies in DVD format.

Gardner's parents, Bob and Margaret Hampton, founded the store, which originally was on West Bypass, in 1984. The business flourished quickly, and the Hamptons soon opened another two stores.

In 1987, several chain video rental stores opened in Springfield. The Hamptons responded by consolidating their three stores into one, and they rented more than 3,000 square feet of store space in the Westwood Shopping Center on West Chestnut Expressway, where Showcase Movies is now.

In 1990, the Hamptons decided to retire and move to Florida where they now own and operate two video stores. Gardner, who always was interested in the family business, bought the store in 1993. Two years later, she doubled the store's size to 6,000 square feet by moving to a larger location in the Westwood Shopping Center.

"Right after I bought the business, a chain store offered to buy me out," Gardner said. "I didn't sell, and they opened a store just a few blocks away. They've since experienced financial difficulties, but it definitely was a trying time for me."

Changes in the video distribution system also have created challenges for Gardner. In recent years, the number of movie distributors has dwindled, which has made it difficult to procure new releases, independent films, and fill special orders placed by customers. In fact, Gardner said, she spends a great deal of time these days tracking down videos.

"I really have to scramble to find product for the store sometimes," Gardner said. "I love being my own boss, though. I wouldn't sell this place for anything."

Although she considers herself to be a hands-on owner, Gardner encourages the store's four employees to act independently and think of new ways to increase business. Recently, the employees set up several special movie sections, which she said have become quite popular.

Gardner also publishes a monthly newsletter, which contains coupons and information about new movies. In addition, she targets potential customers who live in the area through direct mail coupons.

"I think the biggest misconception I have to fight is that our store isn't nice because we're located on the northwest side of town," Gardner said. "I can't tell you how many people express amazement when they come in here and discover we have a clean, well-organized store."

Currently, Showcase Movies is open every day except Christmas. The store offers customers free memberships, extensions on video rentals by phone, free popcorn every day and a video drop box for convenience. In addition, customers can reserve movies by phone, and the videos will be held for them until 8 p.m. the same day. All AIDS-related videos in the store can be borrowed for free.

Recently, the store began repairing scratched CDs and DVDs for $3 a disk. To date, the service has proven to be quite popular, Gardner said.

In the future, Gardner said, she plans to increase her inventory of DVD movies and the store's selection of video games.