dkedvd

Just got back from my local Hollywood Video who just found out without any prior warning that today would be their last day. I asked if they would be having any sales and the manager told me not to her knowledge. However up until this morning her knowledge had no idea she would be out of a job come tomorrow. So who knows? I'll be stopping back tomorrow or maybe Friday to see if any closeout sales are going on. Also she informed me that Hollywood Video was closing down 250 stores nationwide (something else she just found out about this morning). Kinda messed up if you ask me. ::Ring Ring:: "Hello?" "Hi, this is the corporate office. We just though you might like to know as of tomorrow your store will be shut down and you will be out of a job. Hope this doesn't inconvenience you. Have a nice day" ::Click::. I felt really bad for the manager. I've been dealing with her for years now and she has always been super nice and very helpful. She really seamed shook up by the news. And I cannot blame her. I know that if I was to lost my job I would be out of a house, a car, food, everything. She could be and probably is completely screwed. The least they could have done was give her and the other employees a bit of a warning.
So anywho... 250 stores will be shutting down and I have no idea if there will be any sales as of now. But I will be keeping an eye out in the hopes that they will be.

JohnnyDaBull

Hollywood video closed down most of their locations here years ago.

dkedvd

Yea, about 2 years ago a bunch closed down here was well... We only have two left in the area (well... one now). Guess more are going?

MrSmearkase

Wow, that sucks!

Not too many Hollywood Video locations around here, but that sounds awfully sudden. While employment in video rental chains is not the most secure lately, a little notice on the closing on behalf of the staff would have been welcome, I'm sure.

Cheato

If this had been Blockbuster, there would already be 100 posts from people saying they're glad these people were laid off without notice and that they deserved it for being minions of Hell and that they should have seen it coming. Where's the hate, people?

Quatermass

The one near me doesn't do much business. All the other stores around them (Target, Walmart and Albertson's), have either moved or closed up so they don't get much traffic any more. Plus there's a redbox across the street. I'll bet they are toast. I'll have to swing by after work and see if they are boxing everything up.

Lastdaysofrain

I think there's only one Hollywood video left in the greater Boston area (Saugus), the only other store (Medford) closed about a month or two ago.

Gizmo

They are closing down about 250 Game Crazy stores as well.

SethDLH

Not a surprise the 2 in my area have been closed for a while (1 for over a year and the other earlier this year) and both were poorly run and had a-holes for managers.

clckworang

Quatermass

I'm starting to wonder if the manager you talked to might have misunderstood the situation. I can't seem to find any official source for this. As GizmoDVD mentioned, I found this article about them closing the GameCrazy stores inside Hollywood Video. They also say they are starting a liquidation sale this weekend:

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/ne...-this-weekend/

Dexter Douglas

I talked with the manager at the HWV I just started Part Time at and they are closing some HWV stores. Those stores are already in the process of closing down. It seems that they were given more notice than the Game Crazy stores were.

dkedvd

I dont think so. But now that you mention it... All the Hollywood Video stores that have closed down by me all had Game Crazys in them. so maybe they are shutting down 250 Hollywood Video/GameCrazy combo stores?

Quatermass

Could be. With on-demand and kiosks, I think the days of video rental stores are numbered in any case.

Gobear

The Hollywood Video by my house had a Game Crazy branch attached, and yes, it shut down yesterday. The store clearly was having trouble because they frequently closed early despite their stated open til midnight hours, and the few times I passed by, there were no people inside.

What surprised me is that the store was completely emptied--all the stock and fixtures were gone. There wasn't even a liquidation sale. The store was open for business on Tuesday, and completely gutted yesterday.

I haven't rented a movie from a store in years, but if I had known this was coming, I would have rented some OOP discs, confident that they would not have to be returned.

Gizmo

The special crew comes in after close and empties it. Any outstanding rentals are written off. So lots of people just got some free movies/games!

AnonymousVideo

Can't say where I'm from for obvious reasons, but I do work for the company. 200 GameCrazy stores are shutting down at the end of the month (25th will be the last day). We found out about that three days ago, and in many cases those of us at Hollywood found out our Game Crazy was closing before the Game Crazy guys were even told. Hollywood Video managers were assured via a company-wide mandatory conference call that day that HV stores wouldn't be closed down. The higher ups said the purpose of the call was to prevent any rumors from spreading and to reassure the employees that they would be fine.

Yesterday, in our area, the district manager called all the managers and told them they had to work on their day off that day. They were not given a choice and were told to show up at a particular store in street clothes. The DM arrived that morning and told the store manager that the store was being shut down immediately. The managers helped them transfer out all the product and everyone at that store was out of a job that same day. No warning whatsoever. They also informed another manager that day that their store would be receiving the same treatment the following day.

This company does not care AT ALL about their employees. They pull this kind of garbage CONSTANTLY. They change everything at the last minute. The Game Crazy liquidation sales are now delayed from Saturday to Monday. They just had to rework their schedules a couple days ago to reflect the new hours for the sale and now they have to rearrange them again to go back to regular hours for the weekend. No notice, no explanation, nothing. Also, the company sucks at communicating anything to the store teams. They keep as much information from us as possible until they absolutely have no choice but to share it.

Honestly, it seems like the corporate office exists only to come up with ways to screw with their employees.

Ritzik

I'll back up what Anonymous said. My local store was open on Wednesday of last week, when I stopped after work, and gutted on Thursday at the same time. I managed to make eye contact through the window with my usual clerk and he looked like he just got a punch to the gut.

Flash forward to Saturday. I'm driving my girlfriend home and we pass by the Hollywood Video store down the street frome her house. She rented a DVD there less than 24 hours prior. Her store was also gutted! And inless than 24 hours. So, needless to say, the suits at Hollywood Video are just swooping into these obviously thriving stores and annihilating the whole enterprise - staff and all. Very sad.

CaptStormy

I miss Hollywood Video in South Florida

GenPion

So more Hollywood Videos are closing? Maybe it is nearing the end for them...

Lastdaysofrain

I don't think they have an open store left in MA.

Gizmo

Happened to my old store. They gut them in the middle of the night.

Thinking about it - all my Hollywood I believe are gone.

SpinalGuffman

Strange that there seems to be two very different ways these store closings go down: The abrupt shutdown, and the month long closing sale.

I wonder what the determining factors are as to which way a particular store will close?

Deftones

I hadn't been by my local store, but they are shutting down too.

I had a year's worth of those monthly rental coupons to use still after buying my DS there not too long ago. Sonofabitch.

Looks this store was a month long closing sale. Signs up about everything must go.

naitram

Haha good riddance...these assholes, along with Blocbuster, came in and decimated the local video store business through the 90s to today - and now they're being replaced by Netflix and Redbox and such. Not surprising when you're charging $6 to rent a Blu-ray and like $10 to rent a game Hope they all go under.