One of Vancouver’s few remaining video stores has launched an Indiegogo campaign to save itself.
Black Dog Video launched its campaign in early July in the hopes of raising $20,000 by August 31. The funds would help its two locations on Commercial Drive and Cambie Street stay afloat.
“I feel if we appeal to people who still appreciate what we do, to people who are fans of film and of our collection, who like going to video stores, this might give us more legs,” owner Darren Gay says. “It might keep us around for a little while longer until we can figure out something else to do.”
He’s following the lead of two other video stores – Eyesore Cinema in Toronto and Le Video in San Francisco – that launched similar crowdfunding campaigns this year and have raised enough capital to stay afloat while they redeveloped their business.
Gay admits the funds amount essentially to a stay of execution unless he also finds a way to diversify. The owners of Le Video rented out part of their space and turned another part into a bookstore.
The main concern right now is keeping the video collection intact and accessible to the public. Then, he can find something else to offer them.
“It’s just a matter of figuring that out. I want to keep it all movie related. I don’t want to be selling cigarettes or, y’know, sex toys,” he says with a laugh.
Black Dog is one of few Vancouver-area bricks-and-mortar video stores that have managed to stay in business since the rise of streaming and downloading services. Still, Gay closed his Toronto location in 2011. That same year, Videomatica, a mainstay in Kitsilano for almost 30 years, closed its doors. Its collection was made available at the UBC and SFU libraries earlier this year.
Gay says his business has managed to survive this long because Black Dog offers a deep and varied film collection, which the streaming and downloading sites don’t currently provide.
“And we’re part of the community,” Gay says. “At Cambie, we’ve been there for 18 years and almost nine at Commercial Drive. It’s part of that community we’ve always enjoyed and I think people have enjoyed having us there too.”
He says the response has been “great” so far. Since the campaign launched in early July, Black Dog has raised over $6,000, over 30 per cent of its goal. The campaign’s been an effective marketing tool as well – Gay says business has increased since it began.
“People realize that if they don’t use us then we’re going to be gone sometime in the future,” he says.
“We can’t compete with Netflix but if people can include us in their viewing habits with that stuff, I think there’s room for everybody.”
