Slow timesat the video store

If it were an old Western movie, this would be the faded boomtown. It's silent save for the buzz of fluorescent lighting and the familiar "swish-clunk" of DVDs slipping through an outside drop-box.

A smattering of customers -- one, maybe two at a time -- stroll in, getting lost in tall stacks filled with dusty gems such as "Divine Trash" and "Cactus Flower." One elderly gentleman passes through a door in the back to a beyond not suitable for children. At the front desk, two Movieworks employees busy themselves with stocking and paperwork, occasionally marking the lazy minutes on a clock featuring the face of comedian Carrot Top.

Once, independent video stores were as plentiful as today's Dunkin' Donuts: There was one in the center of most towns, maybe even on every block. But now that renting is as easy as a mouse click or an "enter" button on a remote control, the store experience has become archaic.

It's not always desolate, said Greg Revill, owner of Movieworks video store in Danvers -- but it's never bustling the way it used to be. "Before, people just poured in -- rainy days were incredible," he said as he stacked copies of the Adam Sandler farce, "Click," on a quiet Sunday afternoon. "It was a steam engine, and I knew how to stoke the coal. Now it's much more challenging businesswise to make it go."

Just try pulling out an old phone book and calling the numbers listed under the video-DVD rental category. Most have been disconnected or changed to personal cellphones. Old storefronts sit vacant; others have been converted into interior design companies, brokerage firms, or cab services.

Ten years ago, there were roughly 140 independent video stores on the North Shore and along the New Hampshire seacoast, according to old phone records. Now there are fewer than two dozen. The ones that remain face extinction with every new Netflix or digital cable subscriber.

To stay relevant in the $7 billion rental market, many have become ambidextrous -- offering online services, low prices, and specialties such as X-rated videos, pizza, or tanning. "The really smart ones, the good ones, can find their niche," said Revill, who also owns Movieworks's sister store in Brookline. "You have to have something strong to still be in business."

Just consider the competition: Netflix has 6 million customers, no late fees, and 65,000 titles. (The average video store, by comparison, has 8,000 titles.) Then there's on-demand, an order-the-latest-movies-through-your-remote service that comes with digital cable. There's also the fact that DVDs retail for less than $20, with older titles going for as little as $5.

Faced with that range of options, Movieworks has lost about 20 percent of its business since 2003, said Revill. Still, the stores have been able to survive thanks to a "good location, luck, and a lot of movies." Obscure stuff, too: Season one of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and John Waters's trashy cult classic, "Pink Flamingos," as well as the crackly VHS favorites slowly evaporating from the market.

Rental of those old VHS tapes make up roughly 20 percent of Revill's business, he said. "Some of them have museum quality," he said with a laugh. "People still love them."

Tapes provide an equally sizable chunk of revenue for Video City in Haverhill. X-rated videos, tanning, and VHS equal 25 percent of the store's business, said owner Shirley Ingham. Tanning, really? "A video store is a quiet place," she said ; tanning complements it well. The store's two beds are set off in the back, behind a set of swinging saloon doors. "You don't want to tan in a disruptive environment."

While there's no precise count on the number of independents left, experts estimate that there are fewer than half of what there used to be -- somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 nationwide. Add into the mix the larger chains, such as Blockbuster, and the number rises to about 30,800, according to Tom Adams, president of California-based Adams Media Research. That's down from 32,000 last year, he said. He said he expects 5,000 more to close within five years.

Revill thinks the death knell came for many in 1997, when DVDs first sauntered onto the market. Previously it was worthwhile to rent because VHS tapes started at a wallet-busting $75 to $80. "That's the sensible reason for the decline of rental," Revill said. "If I can buy this thing at Target for $7, should I be renting it for $4.50?"

To compete, he offers in-store specials and incentives for early returns. He also started a store website where people can, in Netflix fashion, rent from a wider berth of titles and have them delivered. He's similarly increased in-store selling -- DVDs, snacks, and promotional items such as "Akeelah and the Bee" backpacks. Another recent addition? A popcorn vending machine. "You put in $1 and it air-pops it," Revill said, shrugging. "I have to do this stuff to keep things going."

Fancy gadgets aside, though, many longtime customers say they keep coming for the service and the affable nature of the mom-and-pop shop. "I won't do Netflix. To me, it's too impersonal," said Danvers resident Francie Langlois. She lives within walking distance of Movieworks and rents at least three movies a week. "With Netflix, you can't say to them, 'What did you think of this movie? Is it really worthwhile?'"

Video City customer Lisa Brady often spends a half-hour browsing the store and seeking out obscure titles. "It's much easier," the Haverhill resident said as she scanned Video City's new releases on a chilly Friday night. "I like to come and look and know more about what I'm getting." Nearby, at the register, employee Dan Moore suggested titles to less-decisive customers. He boasted he knows them all, "if not by name, then by face."

He was tested a few minutes later, when longtime customer Linda Corso approached the counter: "I have no idea what my number is." Moore pondered. "Linda?" "Yup," she replied. "I know your son," he said. After paying for her reserved copy of "The Break-Up," the Groveland resident said she doesn't visit the store as much anymore because she has on- demand.

Unfaithful customers are pinching the big guys, too. Blockbuster closed 343 of its 8,000 stores this year, according to industry reports. Movie Gallery, meanwhile, shut down 175 of its 5,000 shops.

Still, these closures actually seem to benefit the survivors. Both Revill and Ingham reported an uptick in new customers this year, even if it hasn't spelled a sizable jump in profits. "I don't expect there to be another boom in this business," Revill said. But "we're here for the duration, whatever that means." And if they do close? "I'd cry," said James Constantino, a longtime Movieworks customer. "You know why? 'Cause I'd be stuck with Blockbuster."