Video Ezy
Encyclopedia
Video Ezy is Australia
's largest video and DVD rental chain with over 550 stores within Australia as well as over 140 stores in New Zealand and 200 throughout South-East Asia. It was founded in 1983.
, Civic Video
, Network Video and to a lesser extent Movies 4U (also known as Top Video or Leading Edge Video). Video Ezy dominates the massive Sydney market. However in other Australian states like Queensland
it has a similar number of stores to rivals Civic, Blockbuster and other minor companies. In February 2007, Blockbuster announced it would be selling its Australian subsidiary and franchising rights to Video Ezy, subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
.
, New South Wales
. The first New Zealand store was opened in 1988. In early 1999 Video Ezy expanded into the South East Asian market. Also that year the franchise undertook major changes as DVD
s became a part of the Australian home video market.
In late 2000 Video Ezy introduced Ezyretail, a video store specific point of sale
system exclusively used by Video Ezy. The software was first developed at Video Ezy 's Sydney head office in 1999 by Radek Soucek and Robert Gongorra. It replaced VideoMinder, a then DOS-based system once used by Blockbuster and some older Video Ezy franchisees.
In 2003 Video Ezy sold its corporate stores in Australia leaving only 2 stores - Narellan and Rosehill, some 10 minutes from its new Head Office at Rhodes, although recently in 2006 it has acquired additional corporate stores.
In 2003 Video Ezy also went on to market a subscription model with DVD Unlimited (not associated with the New Zealand company with the same name).
Video Ezy has also began to sell retail DVDs in recent years.
Video Ezy utilises rent-only releases with the "Rent It - The Only Way To Get It" campaign.
Another advertising campaign used by Video Ezy is "Upsize Your Entertainment" - when a consumer rents a specific title they have the opportunity to upsize by buying a specified similar title for only $4.95 - in April 2007, Video Ezy had Charlotte's Web as the rental title & Paulie as the upsize title.
Slogans include:
In 2000 Video Ezy launched its Fight Back campaign, using slogans such as "Sick of low interest rates? - bank on cheap entertainment with Video Ezy.
Due to the franchise nature of Video Ezy stores, each store runs their own standard promotions and pricing. Many stores have $1.95 Movie Tuesdays, and on Thursdays, all games are $2.95.
s.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's largest video and DVD rental chain with over 550 stores within Australia as well as over 140 stores in New Zealand and 200 throughout South-East Asia. It was founded in 1983.
Competition
In Australia Video Ezy's major competition comes from BlockbusterBlockbuster (movie rental store)
Blockbuster LLC is an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services, originally through video rental shops , later adding DVD-by-mail, streaming video on demand, and kiosks. At its peak in 2009, Blockbuster had up to 60,000 employees. There are around 1700 Blockbuster...
, Civic Video
Civic Video
Civic Video is a DVD and video rental store chain which operates over 330 franchise and corporate-owned video stores across Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.-Australia:Civic Video was formed in Australia in 1985...
, Network Video and to a lesser extent Movies 4U (also known as Top Video or Leading Edge Video). Video Ezy dominates the massive Sydney market. However in other Australian states like Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
it has a similar number of stores to rivals Civic, Blockbuster and other minor companies. In February 2007, Blockbuster announced it would be selling its Australian subsidiary and franchising rights to Video Ezy, subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent authority of the Australia government. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission and the Prices Surveillance Authority to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974...
.
History
Video Ezy first opened their doors in 1983, opening up their first store in the suburb of Hurstville in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The first New Zealand store was opened in 1988. In early 1999 Video Ezy expanded into the South East Asian market. Also that year the franchise undertook major changes as DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s became a part of the Australian home video market.
In late 2000 Video Ezy introduced Ezyretail, a video store specific point of sale
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
system exclusively used by Video Ezy. The software was first developed at Video Ezy 's Sydney head office in 1999 by Radek Soucek and Robert Gongorra. It replaced VideoMinder, a then DOS-based system once used by Blockbuster and some older Video Ezy franchisees.
In 2003 Video Ezy sold its corporate stores in Australia leaving only 2 stores - Narellan and Rosehill, some 10 minutes from its new Head Office at Rhodes, although recently in 2006 it has acquired additional corporate stores.
In 2003 Video Ezy also went on to market a subscription model with DVD Unlimited (not associated with the New Zealand company with the same name).
Video Ezy has also began to sell retail DVDs in recent years.
Marketing
In 1993 the Get it first time, or get it free was launched. Video Ezy re-launched their guarantee under the "Movie Guarantee" umbrella in April 2007. This includes Rental Guarantee, Price Guarantee and an Ex-Rental Guarantee.Video Ezy utilises rent-only releases with the "Rent It - The Only Way To Get It" campaign.
Another advertising campaign used by Video Ezy is "Upsize Your Entertainment" - when a consumer rents a specific title they have the opportunity to upsize by buying a specified similar title for only $4.95 - in April 2007, Video Ezy had Charlotte's Web as the rental title & Paulie as the upsize title.
Slogans include:
- "In the Mood"
- "Ezy does it"
- "Get it first time, or get it free" (defunct, being re-released in April 2007)
- "The choice is Ezy"
- "We have so many copies of our Rental Guarantee title, we guarantee you'll rent it now, or rent it free" - Video Ezy Rental Guarantee as of April 2007.
- "We HEART Movies" (New Zealand slogan since November 2009)
- "Love Movies" - Used since 2009.
- "More to Love" - Expanded from Love Movies to be more inclusive of other products in store
In 2000 Video Ezy launched its Fight Back campaign, using slogans such as "Sick of low interest rates? - bank on cheap entertainment with Video Ezy.
Due to the franchise nature of Video Ezy stores, each store runs their own standard promotions and pricing. Many stores have $1.95 Movie Tuesdays, and on Thursdays, all games are $2.95.
Industrial relations
The company established a training facility in 2006 to develop staff expertise. They had previously worked with a company called Rascals which promoted the use of Australian Workplace AgreementAustralian Workplace Agreement
Australian workplace agreements were formalized individual agreements negotiated by the boss and employee. Employers could offer "take it or leave it" AWAs as a condition of employment. They were registered by the employment advocate and did not require a dispute resolution procedure. These...
s.
Presence in other countries
Video Ezy has stores in the following countries outside Australia:- New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- 136 Stores - ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- 134 Stores - IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
- 135 Stores - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- 15 Stores - Malaysia - 17 Stores
- FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
- 3 Stores