MovieStop Putting An End to Its Business

MovieStop to shutter all stores

MovieStop, a chain of "Buy Sell Trade" movies and related materials, is closing all of its stores nationwide. MovieStop is headquartered in an office park on Cobb International Boulevard in Kennesaw.   

MovieStop, which was launched as a stand-alone brand by GameStop in 2004, grew to nearly 50 locations before being spun  off in 2012.  In November 2014, Draw Another Circle LLC, a company controlled by  entrepreneur Joel Weinshanker, purchased MovieStop. Weinshanker is also the founder & chairman of National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. (NECA) while Draw Another Circle LLC, of which he is the CEO, also owns Hastings, a business similar to MovieStop.  At the time of the deal, Weinshanker planned to realize synergies (and savings) in merging the operations of the Hastings and MovieStop brands.

Many GameStop and MovieStop locations were located within close proximity of each other in the same or nearby centers. 

MovieStop was similar in some ways to Blockbuster Video, another failed business, but sold media, rather than renting it.  MovieStop also tried to differentiate themselves and generate incremental revenue by launching a gift card trade in program in 2014.  Acceptable gift cards, which required a minimum $5 balance, had to be from national brands (think Best Buy and McDonald's) and were redeemable for a percentage of their dollar value.  Similar to Book Nook and CD Warehouse, MovieStop offered either store credit, from 60% to 90% of a card’s value, or cash payouts at about 15% lower. Strangely, MovieStop did not resell the cards in store but instead sold them to a third-party company.

I visited the Mall of Georgia location this past weekend and one thing that struck me was the store's incredibly high inventory levels of certain used movies.  While used media can be a lucrative business, one must be very selective with what they purchase so is not to be left sitting with tremendous inventory.  I observed over a dozen used copies of "Won't Back Down," a 2012 film with a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and dozens of copies of various "Spiderman" films. There were also stockpiles of assorted other films and TV series leading me to guess that poor judgement in purchasing may have been contributed to the retailer's failure.  

Current Atlanta area MovieStop locations include those on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth, Ernest Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw and Woodward Crossing Boulevard in Buford.

The Buford location relocated from another space in Mall of Georgia Crossing in 2013 to accommodate the opening of Burger 21.    

The Kennesaw location is likely the most interesting as it could provide a prime location to a growing or new to market restaurant or retailer, of which there are many.  MovieStop occupies a converted classic freestanding Pier 1 Imports building.  

Former MovieStop locations in Georgia include one on Peachtree Parkway in The Collection at Forsyth, Carmia Drive near Camp Creek Marketplace and another on Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway in Hiram.  The MovieStop in Hiram was a converted Blockbuster / Game Rush and has since been demolished and rebuilt as a Pollo Tropical restaurant.  

MovieStop locations are currently liquidating all existing inventory with savings of 20-40%.  All stores are expected to close by July 9th.   Stores in Buford and Duluth will reportedly be closed by July 5th.

Are you surprised by the closure of MovieStop?  If you live near one of the closing stores, what would you like to see open in its place?  Where do you purchase your media, or do you purchase it?

Please share your thoughts below.