The only movie store in "Canada's best neighbourhood" lives to fight another day, but barely.
Movie Village, an Osborne Village institution in Winnipeg, known for its diverse collection of independent and rare movies for nearly three decades, is moving in with its sister retailer, Music Trader.
Movie Village is moving out of its former 5,000-square-foot space and into 1,400-square feet as it teams up with another retailer struggling to stay afloat in the digital age.
David Ringer, whose family owns both locations, admits that, although the move is "fairly dramatic," it's something that had to be done.
"Movie Village has managed to capture a large piece of a shrinking pie, but I'm afraid there isn't much left to capture anymore. We're anticipating a continuing trend," he said.
The flurry of activity was caused by Shoppers Drug Mart, which knocked over the first domino earlier this year when it bought Movie Village's building. An adjacent Vietnamese restaurant, Vi-ann, must also move, though its owners haven't yet been able to secure new space.
Shoppers plans to knock down Movie Village and use the space to more than double the size of its 10,000-square-foot location.
Osborne Village was named Canada's best neighbourhood in April after an online vote through the Canadian Institute of Planners.
from Western Investor July 2012
