Iola’s Blockbuster store will soon be a thing of the past after it was announced last week the movie and video game rental service will no longer be open for business.
Blockbuster, owned and operated by Wichita-based Fugate Enterprises, opened its doors in Iola in 1994. Since then, a series of events during the last decade — a reeling economy, increasing Internet capabilities and the advent of movie rental kiosks — have led to a significant reduction of Blockbuster retail stores nationwide, said Chelsey Cooper, manager of the Iola Blockbuster.
“It’s been kind of a downhill battle for a while, a combination of factors. There are just so many other options for consumers, and entertainment as a whole has kind of become a luxury item as opposed to necessity,” Cooper said. “With the economy, people are kind of cutting back on their spending, and entertainment falls on the low end of the necessity list.”
Iola Chamber of Commerce director Shelia Lampe said Blockbusters and other traditional video rental stores are closing doors all across the state, pointing to Wichita and Topeka as examples of markets where stores are being reduced and eliminated.
“Times are changing,” she said. “When you can download your movies to your Wii or through the Internet, it’s very hard to compete with that. It’s a hard market to be in right now.”
Calls to both Fugate Enterprises and Blockbuster’s corporate office in Texas requesting revenue figures for the Iola store were not returned.
The video store’s early to mid-November closure means Cooper’s full-time position and four part-time staff positions will be eliminated.
Though Blockbuster wasn’t a huge employee hub for Iola and Allen County, Lampe said it’s always unfortunate to see any local business struggle.
“One job loss is still one too many,” she said. “We can’t afford to lose jobs and I hate to see it go.”
Cooper, an Iola resident, has worked at Blockbuster for eight years.
“The hardest part is saying good-bye to all the people,” she said. “A lot of the customers have been lifelong customers — since the doors opened. I feel in a way that I’m letting them down.”
Iolan Ashley Nellic, a Blockbuster customer nearly all her life, said it’s sad to see the store go.
“I can remember growing up in Kansas City and going to the video store every Friday night,” she reminisced Wednesday in downtown Iola. “It’s too bad people aren’t going to be able to make an event out of going to the video store anymore.”
