Jumbo Video
Jumbo Video was a Canadian chain of franchised and corporate video stores, owned by Le SuperClub Vidéotron, a division of Quebecor Media Inc.
 | |
| Industry | Video rental |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with Le SuperClub Vidéotron in 2018 |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Quebec, Canada |
Area served | Ontario, Atlantic Canada |
| Owner | Quebecor Media |
| Parent | Le SuperClub Vidéotron |
| Website | jumbovideo.com |
The company was founded in May 1987 and at one point claimed to be the third-largest player in the Canadian video rental industry. It was well known for offering free popcorn to customers, regardless of whether they rented videos.[1] The video game subsidiary Microplay was founded in the late 1990s in order to facilitate the rentals of video games.
In 2004, due to financial issues that had been prevalent for many years, the assets of the chain were purchased by Quebecor Media, resulting in the re-branding of the stores with the current logo, and now Jumbo Video is now essentially the English Canadian brand of SuperClub, Quebec's dominant video rental chain, and the two brands now share similar marketing. As a result of the 2011-12 closures of Blockbuster Canada and Rogers Video, SuperClub and Jumbo together form Canada's largest remaining video rental chain.
As of early 2015, the Jumbo Video website listed 11 locations, five located in Ontario and the other six in various communities in Atlantic Canada.
The chain was previously publicly traded as a company called Jumbo Entertainment Inc. After selling its assets to Quebecor, the remaining shell company agreed to a reverse takeover by clothing retailer West 49.
In March 2018, the last Jumbo Video store located in London, Ontario has merged with Le SuperClub Vidéotron.
As of February 2020, there is still a Jumbo Video operating in Belleville, Ontario and London, Ontario.
Slogans
- "Home of Free Popcorn!" (1990-1998)
- "Home of the guarantee." (1998-2005)
- "Tons of copies!" (2006-2018)