Movie HQ owner Kay Hanna says its the customers she'll miss the most.
The last DVD rental store in the Waipa is closing its doors for the final time.
Te Awamutu's Movie HQ, formerly Civic Video, is owned by Cambridge woman Kay Hanna.
She says the decision to close was financial — she could not compete with online movie streaming and Netflix.
Kay's not alone — the collapse of DVD rental stores is rapidly sweeping the nation.
Civic Video has 20 outlets remaining in New Zealand, according to its website.
Cambridge's Civic Video, the last DVD store in Cambridge, closed in 2016.
Video Ezy has 10 outlets left in New Zealand, down from a peak of 130 stores in 2008.
United Video has 29 outlets, down from 104 in 2011, according to general manager Lindsay Hall.
With two weeks left until she shuts up shop, Kay is now tasked with selling 20,000 DVDs.
The final day will likely be February 20, but it depends how the sale goes, she says.
Kay and her husband Grant purchased Civic Video 14 years ago.
At the time they were one of three booming video rental stores in Te Awamutu alongside United Video and Video Ezy.
The farming couple was looking for an additional business — somewhere for Kay to work while Grant farmed.
"We liked the idea of people being entertained, and us not having to sell a product."
Kay says for the first 10 years it was a very good business and they bought out Te Awamutu's Video Ezy in 2008.
DVDs were quickly filling the shelves and all videos were sold by 2009.
In 2014 the store stopped contracting through Civic Video and changed to Movie HQ.
When Grant passed away suddenly in 2014 Kay moved from their farm in Kaipaki to Leamington.
In recent years she has worked at the store five days a week.
Te Awamutu's United Video closed two years ago and since then Movie HQ has ruled the DVD rental scene in the Waipa.
But over the last several years Kay has seen a sharp decline in customers and, as a result, the demand for staff.
In November 2015 she served 2311 customers and in November last year she served 1311.
Over the years she's employed around 25 staff.
"We used to need three staff members on a Saturday because it was so busy," she says.
"Now we only need one person and they get bored."
Reflecting on the 14 years of business, Kay says it's the customers she'll miss the most.
"I've loved watching people come and go over the years and seeing children grow up."
She says the store has filled a gap for people without access to other entertainment.
"I feel sad for the people who don't have the internet — what will they do now?
"Most of the customers are confused and disappointed."
Longtime customers Bronwyn and Richard Tiddy say they were sad to hear of the store's closure.
"It was one of our family traditions to go down and choose a movie. Now we will need to improve our movie-watching skills."
University of Waikato Screen and Media Studies research associate Geoff Lealand says the closure highlights the rise of digital media.
"The simple way to put it is that we now have new platforms," he says.
"We've moved from hard copy to virtual."
Geoff, however, believes there is still a place for the DVD.
"People who are looking beyond the mainstream can still find DVDs
"Speciality stores still exist — like Auteur House in Hamilton and AroVideo in Wellington.
"There's something special about having a tangible item that you can treasure and share with others."
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