Movie Gallery adds two new locations in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Movie Gallery Expands Into Secondary Markets

HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA – Having started its business in Dothan, Alabama, it seemed a natural progression for Movie Gallery to focus its expansion into secondary markets.   The second largest video specialty retailer in the United States, with over 2,000 stores and 16,000 employees, Movie Gallery has grown rapidly since being formed in 1985, by acquiring other video rental companies.

      Initially, the video rental industry was comprised of a large number of entrepreneurs, with only a few locations.  Many of these “mom and pop” operations were consolidated into larger national chains in the mid-1990s.   After the completion of its initial public offering in August, 1994, Movie Gallery executed an aggressive expansion program by completing over 100 separate acquisitions and folding nearly 800 new stores into its portfolio.

      Major acquisitions of Blowout Entertainment’s 88 stores in 1999 and Video Update’s 300-plus stores in 2001 have positioned Movie Gallery as a strong competitor in the Southeastern U.S. and throughout Canada. 

      According to co-founder Joe Malugen, “Movie Gallery’s strategic focus on its core rural and secondary markets has led to four consecutive years of substantial profitable growth, a record we are confident of extending for the current year.  We have continued to build a high quality management team that has demonstrated its ability to implement Movie Gallery’s proven business model.  We are fully committed to strengthening our leadership position in our fragmented marketplace with the goal of driving consistent profitable growth.”

      In the Hampton Roads, Virginia market, Movie Gallery opened two new locations in 2004.  A lease was signed with MG Midwest, doing business as Movie Gallery, for 4,000 square feet of retail space in the Divaris-leased Glenwood Shopping Center, located at 717 South Battlefield Boulevard in Chesapeake, Virginia.   The video store joined Food Lion, Pollard’s Chicken and ReMax in the shopping center.  The Virginia Beach office of Divaris Real Estate, Inc., is the exclusive tenant broker for Movie Gallery in the Hampton Roads area.

      Additionally, MG Midwest also leased 4,000 square feet of retail space in the Divaris-leased and managed Marketcenter at Harbourview.   The shopping center is located at the intersection of College Drive and Town Point Road in Suffolk, Virginia.   Its tenants include Food Lion, Contours Express and Subway.  Anne Millar Wright, of DRE’s Virginia Beach office, represented the landlord, CTR Associates, LLP in the lease negotiations. 

       In 2004, Movie Gallery planned to open 250 to 300 more stores in smaller, secondary markets in the U.S. and Canada. In late 2004 it concluded a deal to acquire Hollywood Video; confirmation of this acquisition is still pending.