Rogers Plus
 | |
| Division of Rogers Communications | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Defunct | April 16, 2012 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Products | Cable modems, home video, mobile phones, netbooks, set-top boxes, tablet computers |
| Services | Rentals for home video, video games and video game consoles; sales and support of Rogers services |
| Revenue |
 $355 million CAD (2010) |
| Owner | Rogers Communications |
Number of employees | 4,500 |
| Website | www.rogersplus.ca |
Rogers Plus was a brand name for the retail operations of Rogers Communications. It was formed in early 2007 from the merger of the Rogers Wireless chain of telecommunications stores previously operated by InterTAN under licence from Rogers, and the company-owned Rogers Video chain of video rental stores. Rogers retired the Rogers Video and Rogers Wireless brand names from its stores and re-branded them as Rogers Plus.
It operated over 300 stores. Rogers stores also provided sales and service for cable television, Internet, home phone service and wireless phone service in markets where they offer these services.
History
1980s to 1990s: inception, acquisitions and expansion
Rogers Video was established in 1988. The company's operations grew considerably in the 1990s through take-overs of smaller, local chains. For example, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Rogers took over eight stores from TVS Video Superstore[1] and Family Video (not to be confused with the Saskatoon-based Family Video chain that became VHQ) chains. Such acquisitions allowed Rogers Video to gain the title of the fifth largest video rental shop chain in North America until its discontinuation. In the country's National Capital Region, which mainly consists of Ottawa, the rental chain agreed to provide services in both English and French.[2] Rogers Video also received multiple "Canadian Retailer of the Year" awards in that decade and the next to come.
2000s: DVD-by-mail service and rebranding
In 2004, Rogers Video began a partnership with Zip.ca to provide a DVD-by-mail service called Rogers Video Direct. This allowed users to rent online and have DVDs delivered by mail. As of December 2011, Rogers Video Direct has closed and customers are redirected to the Zip.ca website. The company changed the name of their chain to Rogers Plus in 2007.
2010s: rental business discontinued, another rebranding
Competitor Blockbuster Canada shut down all of its Canadian video rental stores in 2011. Following this, Rogers Plus also announced plans to shut down its video rental operations. Rogers ceased rentals on April 16, 2012 and sold all of its previously viewed inventory from rentals and customers at "buy one, get one free" prices. The majority of these stores will remain open to display cable, Internet and wireless products and services. In May 2012, the company announced in stores and on their website that they would cease renting movies and games, encouraging customers to choose Rogers Anyplace TV or Rogers On Demand instead.[3]
Stores are now phasing out the Rogers Plus brand name. Any remaining stores will now be simply branded as Rogers stores, similar to how Bell Canada and Telus Communications stores are branded.[4]
Awards
Rogers won multiple "Canadian Retailer of the Year" awards. Five were awarded by Premiere in 1992 and from 1994 to 1997 inclusive. Four more were awarded by Entertainment Merchants Association in 1993, 1995 and 1997.
See also
References
- ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (May 25, 1996). "newsline…". Billboard: 70. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Official languages (14)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ↑ "movieexit.jpg". Rogers Plus. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ↑ "Twitter Feed". Twitter. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
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