Movie Gallery, Inc. (former NASDAQ ticker symbol MOVI) was the second largest movie and game rental company in the United States and Canada, behind Blockbuster Video. The company rented and sold Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and video games. Founded in Dothan, Alabama, the company was headquartered in Dothan, and later in Wilsonville, Oregon.
On April 30, 2010, Movie Gallery announced it was closing and liquidating all of its stores per a filing of Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At its peak the firm had about 4,700 stores in North America, operating mainly under the Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video, and GameCrazy brands. The last of the company's stores were closed in August 2010.
In 2011, three Movie Gallery locations in Northwest Arkansas reopened by an independent business owner who acquired the trademark rights in Arkansas. In 2013, an independent businessman in Jackson, Mississippi acquired the trademark rights in Mississippi to Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video and announced intentions to reopen select previously profitable stores.
Most regular Movie Galleries were located in rural areas, while Hollywood Video locations, which competed directly with Blockbuster, were located in urban areas.
History
Movie Gallery was formed in 1985 by Joe Malugen and Harrison Parrish in Dothan, Alabama. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, M.G.A., the company's founders began operating video specialty stores in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle, and franchising the Movie Gallery store concept. By June 1987 the company owned five stores and had a franchise operation of 45 stores. In 1988, the company began to consolidate the franchisees into company owned stores. By 1992, the company had a total of 37 stores and annual revenues of $6 million.
In August 1994, the company completed an initial public offering of its stock. With the proceeds from this offering, the company began to quickly complete acquisitions of various video chains, primarily in the southeast. In early 1995, the company raised additional public funds and continued the acquisition and development of stores. By the middle of 1996, only 22 months after beginning its aggressive expansion strategy, Movie Gallery had grown to over 850 stores through over 100 separate acquisitions.
In 1999, Movie Gallery announced plans to build 100 new stores. The company completed an 88-store acquisition of Blowout Entertainment in May and ended the year with more than 950 locations in 31 states. In 2000, Movie Gallery again set its goal at opening 100 new stores and relocating 25. This goal was surpassed.
The company moved forward with its largest single-chain acquisition to date, expanding its base of stores by 30%, in late December 2001. The addition of Video Update stores to the Movie Gallery family launched the company's international presence with 100 retail locations in Canada. Movie Gallery achieved the 1,678 store mark in 2002.
In 2005, the company completed the largest acquisition to date with the Hollywood Entertainment merger. This combination of companies increased the store total to 4,700 with revenues in excess of $2.5 billion. In addition, Movie Gallery opened 61 new stores in Western Canada with the acquisition of VHQ Entertainment.
Downfall
The company began having financial difficulties and announced the closure of 520 stores in September 2007. At the time Movie Gallery had about 4,500 locations. The next month, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Because of these troubles, the stock price dropped below $1 (~$ in ) per share and was removed from listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange in November 2007.
An additional 400 stores were scheduled to close during the bankruptcy reorganization. Movie Gallery emerged from Chapter 11 in May 2008 and appointed C. J. Gabriel, Jr. as the new chief executive officer. Founder and former CEO Joe Malugen continued to serve on the Movie Gallery Board of Directors until leaving on July 30, 2008. The company relocated its headquarters to Wilsonville, Oregon, (home of the Hollywood Video subsidiary) in late 2008. In January 2009, they closed their Wilsonville distribution center.
In early 2009, Movie Gallery operated about 2,700 locations and 1,300 Hollywood Video locations in the United States. Canadian operations included over 200 "Movie Gallery" branded stores, as well as approximately 60 under the VHQ brand in western Canada. In 2009 Movie Gallery closed its Wilsonville, Oregon distribution facility, merging it with one in Nashville, Tennessee.