End of an era

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GEORGE NEWS - One of the few DVD stores left in the country, Top DVD on the corner of Wellington and Courtenay streets, will soon close its doors for good. The "closing down sale" signs are on the windows and customers have a chance to buy some of their favourites, for old time's sake, before the end of July.

This shop has been part of George for the last 42 years.

"Covid, Eskom and technology are the three main reasons why now is the right time to close the store," said Ann Coull, one of Top DVD's owners.

"First of all it was Covid that hit us very hard, then we tried to recover and it was Eskom with their heavy, heavy load shedding, and then, of course, technology that has changed so much over the years."

Top DVD is a family business, owned by Des Coull and his wife Ann. Asked about their future plans, the Coulls said Des started making repurposed furniture using pallets and Ann is teaching online.

Tich Coull, Des' brother who worked for the business for the last 31 years, will now retire.

History and highlights

With close to 100 replies on their "Closing down sale" posted on Facebook last week, Ann Coull shared some of the store's history and magic moments with George Herald.

"The shop was opened in 1981, in the spot where the KFC [in Courtenay Street] is situated today. My husband Des bought the shop in 1983, and has been the owner ever since.

"The shop began as a small outlet renting out VHS tapes and large bulky VHS machines. Next came the Beta format, followed by the popular DVD format. The shop is the only surviving video shop in George, having been open for 42 years."

FOTOGALERY: Top DVD is closing - the last DVD shop in George

Top DVD has been part of George for the past 42 years.

One of the highlights for the Coulls was when they were right at their peak around 2010, with a total of 20 Top DVD outlets throughout the Western Cape - either owned by themselves, or franchised.

"Another highlight was meeting some amazing people like the WP rugby coach Paul True, SA-Australian cricketer Kepler Wessels and quite recently, the motivational speaker Allison Botha who came in with her video launch," said Ann.

"I remember a time when there were quite a few DVD shops other than Top DVD in George - in fact, more than 13 video shops serviced the area of George. Now in 2023, to our knowledge, we only know of one DVD shop in Port Elizabeth and one in Johannesburg. Not sure about any remaining DVD shops in the Western Cape."

Memory lane

On social media, posts have been flooding in. Some congratulated the Coulls for holding out so long, others are feeling quite sad, calling it "the end of an era".

For Liané van Zyl, the closing down of George's last video store is one of the saddest things she has seen in a long time.

"So sad when 'progress' and 'innovation' brings destruction to an industry," she said. "If I had money, I would've bought this business. No jokes."

Van Zyl said she would always find something at Top DVD to watch. "I love those older series, such as Criminal Minds. How many times have I rented those movies. They would say, 'But you've watched this before', and I would say, 'I know"."

Another person commented that Top DVD "practically raised us". Others thanked them for all the years of movies.

"We have been big supporters since 1991 when we moved to George and all the way up until now!! Sometimes all the advancement in technology isn't all that great after all!" said one of their supporters.

Top DVD has been part of George for the past 42 years.