Two West Fourth retailers are preparing to join forces in a bid to give at least one of them a new lease on life.
In a move that threatens to blow the minds of hipster aesthetes across the city, Videomatica has struck a deal with Zulu Records that will see the two indie icons unite under one roof come early November.
Hardcore cinephiles were inconsolable earlier this year when Videomatica announced plans to close, citing rising rents and a consumer shift toward video on demand.
But Westside has learned the owners of the venerable rental institution, which specializes in hard-to-find foreign, indie, Canadian and cult films, began mulling a move of its sales division across the street shortly after the announcement.
We really noticed that our sales division actually got busier, says co-owner Graham Peat.
While the writing is on the wall for the rental division, Peat says staff and customers have been stressing the potential in maintaining a brick-and-mortar sales division for devotees for months. The question was how. We thought about pairing with another store and Zulu was our first choice, says Peat.
After months of negotiations, Zulu founder Grant McDonagh agreed to sublet a portion of his longstanding record shop so Videomatica could set up a store within a store, reducing overhead costs for both parties.
For a couple of independents to survive, I think its the way to go, says Peat, adding the move will also keep some long term staff members employed.
As for Videomaticas rental collection of more than 35,000 cinematic treasures, Peat confirmed a deal is in the works between Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia that would see the collection split between them. While the collection may be worth upwards of $800,000, Peat says he and co-owner Brian Bosworth are not trying to ask for that kind of money.
Still, a recent article in the Globe and Mail put the price tag for the collection at more than $200,000.
To help the universities come up with the purchasing power Videomatica has launched a campaign where the public can send a movie to university for a minimum donation of $25 (info at Videomatica.ca/Fundraiser/Donate).
Meanwhile, Peat says the old rental store on Burrard and Fourth remains open until a deal with the universities is finalized. The new sales outlet at Zulu will be up and running in time for the Christmas shopping season.
