Le SuperClub Vidéotron Ltée, which includes the
Jumbo Video and Microplay chains, was the largest video store chain operator in Canada, with operations concentrated in
Quebec. It was owned by
Quebecor Media. Since the closure of
Blockbuster Canada in 2011 and
Rogers' video rental operations in 2012, it had been Canada's largest video retailer: it consisted of 29 SuperClub locations and 10 Microplay stores , with many of the latter being independently owned.
History
In 2004, SuperClub took over the
Jumbo Video and Microplay franchises. Jumbo Video operates 17 video rental locations nationwide, while Microplay focuses primarily on
video games, but also rents and sells movies. The Microplay name has recently appeared on a number of in-store boutiques at SuperClub locations throughout Quebec. In 2006, most
Rogers Video stores in
Quebec were closed or converted to Le SuperClub Vidéotron. There are currently 69 Microplay locations and the vast majority of them are co-located with SuperClub locations in Quebec.
As of August 2005, the chain operated more than 185 locations through Quebec under the SuperClub brand. They also have locations in
Edmundston,
New Brunswick, and
Rockland, Ontario. They had also opened locations in
Moncton
Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...
and
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
. Those stores were eventually bought out by Rogers and converted into
Rogers Video stores.
Their location in
Square One Shopping Centre was recently closed down along with many other stores, including
Cavendish Mall in
Côte Saint-Luc as well as
Kirkland, Quebec,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux,
Beaconsfield, Quebec as well as in
Montreal's
Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough. They also closed their location in
Hawkesbury, Ontario.
Their head office was located in the city of
Montreal's
Saint-Léonard borough.
Subsidiaries
Microplay
Microplay founder Bill Pearce originally established a shop on
Bank Street named Gamer Video in 1981, which rented
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
and
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel, Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. I ...
games; it was one of the first Canadian businesses to rent video game cartridges. Gamer Video was destroyed in a fire in 1983. In 1986, Pearce and childhood friend Mason Copeland opened Microplay. At that time, Pearce and Copeland made weekly trips to the United States to avoid high markups charged by Canadian video game distributors.
The store had two locations in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and one in
Toronto by April 1989, and also acted as a supplier to 25 Canadian video game stores.
[ Microplay began franchising in June 1993, expanding to 28 stores, and became regarded as Canada's leading video game specialty chain. Microplay's first United States location opened in ]Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
in July 1994.[
]
Locations
, Le SuperClub Vidéotron offers movie rentals at the following locations:
* Aylmer
* Boucherville
* Buckingham
* Cap-de-la-Madeleine
* Charlesbourg
* Fabreville
* Gréber
* Greenfield Park
* Île-Perrot
* Jonquière
* L'Assomption
* Lachine
* Lafontaine
* La Plaine
* Lavaltrie
* Mascouche
* Mont-Laurier
* Pointe-aux-Trembles
* Roland-Therrien
* Saint-Antoine
* Saint-Constant
* Saint-Eustache
* Saint-Hubert
* Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
* Saint-Lin
* Saint-Luc
* Saint-Nicolas
* Saint-Romuald
* Victoriaville
Logos
File:Le SuperClub Vidéotron logo.jpg, Logo used from 1989 until 2007 (the Quebecor Media name was added in 2001 after the sale of Vidéotron at Quebecor)
File:Le SuperClub Vidéotron 2007 logo.jpg, Logo used from 2007 until 2011
File:Videotron le superclub logo.jpg, Logo used from 2011 until 2017
References
External links
Superclub Vidéotron website
Jumbo Video website
Microplay website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Superclub Videotron
1989 establishments in Quebec
2021 disestablishments in Quebec
Companies based in Montreal
Quebecor
Retail companies established in 1989
Retail companies disestablished in 2021
Video rental services of Canada