The owner of Britain’s longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is still booming 40 years after first opening their doors. Colin Richards, owner of TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, first opened his store in 1984 and initially leased video tapes to other shops.
Image Credit: Metro [Colin Richards owner of T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]
But the 71-year-old later started renting films out to customers and now the store has around 8,500 DVDs, including fan-favourite Forrest Gump which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. While the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit.
Image Credit: Metro [T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]
And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for £2 a week, 11 years after Blockbuster shut down. Colin said: ‘I thought the business would be a five year thing. Then I thought we would transition. But that obviously didn’t happen.
Image Credit: Metro [Colin Richards owner of T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]
‘When Netflix came about, I think we had already established ourselves in the market place as we had a huge membership. ‘Sky and Netflix really didn’t worry us at all really.’. Allstar video is believed to be the last video rental shop in the UK, but Colin says the secret to staying open has been his talent for diversifying.
Image Credit: Metro
As well as renting DVDs, the dad-of-two also sells stationery, repairs scratched DVDs discs and runs a successful photocopying and printing service. The store has also turned into a hub for the local community and Colin says they have customers who come in for a chat ‘on a daily basis.’.
![[Colin Richards owner of T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234245244-d442.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234245329-cb9c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Colin Richards owner of T.V.L Allstar Video rental store in Haverhill, Suffolk. Release date ??? December 26, 2024. The owner of Britain's longest surviving DVD rental store is surprised that business is booming - 40 years after they opened. Colin Richards, 71, opened TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk, in 1984 and it originally started as a company that leased video tapes to other shops. He then decided to start renting films and the store now has around 8,500 DVDs including Forrest Gump - which has been borrowed at least 2,000 times. But while the rise of streaming services like Netflix largely killed off the movie rental business, Colin says he has a steady flow of loyal customers who keep him in profit. And his store in Haverhill, Suffolk, is still renting out DVDs to families for ??2 a week - 11 years after Blockbuster shut down.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234245331-0385.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
