Family Video
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| Family Video Movie Club, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Glenview, Illinois, USA |
| Key people | Charles Hoogland, CEO Keith Hoogland, President Eric Hoogland, Vice-President |
| Industry | Video Rental |
| Employees | ~6,000 (2006) |
| Website | www.familyvideo.com |
Family Video is the largest privately-owned video rental chain in the United States, and third largest overall. The company has over 500 stores across fourteen states, with their strongest customer base in the Midwest, and has an emerging commercial property division. The company recently sold its dialup ISP (Family Online) to EarthLink, which folded those customers into their PeoplePC low-price internet service. The company also sells movies and games at their website: FamilyVideo.com. One controversial issue is Family Video's selling and renting of pornography. In response to complaints, one manager in Ohio stated, "Family Video is named as such because it is family owned not because it is family oriented".
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[edit] History
Family Video was started by Charles Hoogland in Springfield, IL in 1978. Hoogland inherited Midstates Appliance and Supply Co., the predecessor to Family Video, from his father, Clarence Hoogland, who started the company in 1946. In the 1970's, Midstates Appliance got stuck with a large quantity of videos. It was suggested that they rent the videos, and the Video Movie Club of Springfield was born. The Video Movie Club was one of the very first video rental stores in the country and had no competition. The Club charged $25 for membership and $5 for a three-night movie rental. The Family Video chain of stores evolved from this club. In 2003, Family Video announced it would be relocating its headquarters to Glenview, IL.
[edit] Store concept and retail operations
Family Video locations usually consist of a medium-sized building featuring a fluorescent light tower outside the front entrance.
Family Video is rapidly expanding its operations opening 40-50 stores per year. It has begun to include lease spots at its new locations as well. Many new states are seeing Family Video's pop up including: Oklahoma, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas with more on the way.
Family Video's catalog section of older DVD's costs $1.00 for 5 nights at all stores. New releases are placed on the outermost wall and range from $1 to $4 for one to five nights. A free educational, sports and fitness and kids movie section are also included. Half price on all rentals for 30 days can be purchased for $9.95 to $14.95 depending on location. Family Video also sells pre-viewed movies as well as games for most newer systems.
[edit] Online shopping
Family Video began in March 2003 to sell new movies and games through the website: www.familyvideo.com. Their selection consists of over 30,000 movies and games on a wide range of formats from DVD, VHS, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc, as well as video games for the consoles PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.
FamilyVideo.com also offers several popular promotions such as the Steal of the Day, in which a different title is substantially reduced every day.
