In a Facebook post announcing its closure, Rida asked customers with unused prepaid rental credits to head to the store, located at the Coronation Shopping Plaza, to settle their balances.
They can either swap the credits for physical discs or opt for a refund in cash or via PayNow. Refunds will be available only until April 30, and customers must sign their rental cards in person to acknowledge the credit balance.
“Thank you very much for all your support and loyalty over the years. We truly appreciate it,” the store said.
Rida Video Centre at the Coronation Shopping Plaza in Singapore. Photo from Google Maps |
Established in 1985 during the heyday of VHS rentals by Laurel Khoo and her late husband, Ooi Kai Peng, the family-run shop offers more than 10,000 titles spanning dramas, documentaries, cartoons and arthouse films.
Older formats such as laser discs, VCDs and VHS tapes have been phased out, and the store is now stocked mainly with DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
Even as streaming reshaped viewing habits, the store has continued to offer a personal experience.
“Netflix cannot chat with you, but we can. And we can chat about anything, not just movies,” Khoo told The Straits Times in a 2020 interview.
After years running the business, Khoo is now retiring, her daughter said in a post reflecting on Rida’s closure.
“Closing down Rida Video Centre has been a difficult decision for our family, but unfortunately, we could not muster a realistic plan to keep it open,” she wrote.
“Nothing major happened…just the slow, relentless erosion by the twenty-first century,” she added.
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