Did streaming kill the video star?
Rida Video Centre, one of Singapore’s last video rental stores, will be shuttering soon.
In a Facebook post on Feb 21, the store announced that its last day of operations will be on April 30.
“Thank you very much for all your support and loyalty over the years. We truly appreciate it,” Rida Video Centre wrote.
The owner urged customers who have unused prepaid rental credits to visit the shop at Coronation Shopping Plaza and collect the balance.
Customers can either exchange the balance for physical discs as keepsakes or receive a refund in cash or via PayNow.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19sKxgoGUk/
Refunds are only available until April 30 and customers have to sign their rental card in person to acknowledge the credit balance.
Those with queries can contact the store at 91866273 via WhatsApp. The owner also shared that they will not be available via Facebook, Instagram, or landline.
Rida Video Centre did not share the reason for the closure. AsiaOne has contacted the store for more details.
Decades of history
The establishment, which has been in business for over four decades, was founded in 1985 during the video home system (VHS) era by Laurel Khoo and her late husband Ooi Kai Peng, reported The Straits Times in 2020.
The store carries numerous DVS and Blu-ray discs these days, after the phasing out of older formats such as laser discs, VCDs and VHS tapes.
Rida Video Centre relocated from Serene Centre to its current premises in 2015 after Laurel learned that Serene Centre was increasing its rent.
Due to the rise of online streaming services, the business saw a 30 per cent drop between 2015 and 2020, she told the publication.
In 2020, Rida Video Centre was also featured in a short film titled Video Store by Edward Khoo for ciNE65 2021.
The film paid homage to Edward’s childhood memories of frequenting video stores with his father, veteran local filmmaker Eric Khoo.
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