Bought the business where he started

A man who grew up in Woy Woy has bought the business where he first worked after leaving school and where he met his life partner who also worked there.

David Matthews has bought Woy Woy Civic Video together with his life partner Kim Andrews.

David's first job after school was to assist the original owner commence business in 1995.

He went on to work in larger Civic Video stores in Sydney, then to work with Blockbuster Video and has now returned to where it all began.

David grew up in Woy Woy and, apart from his emotional connection with the shop, he was attracted to it because of its location, potential and because of his knowledge of the area and its people.

David's experience in the industry means that he is able to introduce the successful promotions from other stores to the Woy Woy outlet.

He has already made several improvements with more to come.

"We have increased the range, added new value deals, rearranged the store and generally refurbished it, inside and out," David Matthews said.

"We also have a staff member who has been dedicated to help people find movies, explain changes and advise on the best value deals for customers," he said.

"The industry is changing rapidly with the biggest change being the switch from VHS video movie rentals to DVD movie rentals.

"One year ago it was 40 per cent DVD, 60 per cent VHS. This has now become 80 per cent DVD and 20 per cent VHS.

"To facilitate this, we are also selling DVD players for $99 which includes $20 rental credit."

As part of the changes, there will be a large stock sellout with a carnival atmosphere commencing on Saturday, June 5.

Cec Bucello, May 28