Jumbo Video was a Canadian chain of franchised and corporate video stores, owned by

Le SuperClub Vidéotron 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 ...

, a division of

Quebecor Media Inc. Quebecor Media Inc. is a Canadian media conglomerate that owns a wide array of media outlets, as well as an internet service provider. History In 1983 Quebecor purchased the Winnipeg Sun newspaper, which had been independently run. The news ...

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.Jumbo Entertainment (now West 49) 1998 annual report
via SEDAR Their

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

subsidiary Microplay was founded in 1986, and purchased by Jumbo Video 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 English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...

brand of SuperClub,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

'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 Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and the other six in various communities in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundla ...

. 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 A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

by clothing retailer

West 49 West 49 Inc., is a Canadian specialty retailer of fashion and apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment related to the action sports lifestyle. The company was founded in 1987 as Jumbo Entertainment, Inc. to manage the Jumbo Video franchis ...

. As of 2022, the last Jumbo Video store is located in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

. It is family-owned and includes a Microplay store. In addition to media rentals and sales, the store includes many varieties of popcorn, single-serve coffee, collectible toys (such as trading cards, figurines, and plushies), and other merchandise.

Slogans

* "Home of Free Popcorn!" (1990-1998) * "Home of the guarantee." (1998-2005) * "Tons of copies!" (2006-2018)

References

External links

Official Website
Quebecor Retail companies established in 1987 Retail companies disestablished in 2018 1987 establishments in Quebec 2018 disestablishments in Quebec Video rental services of Canada {{retail-company-stub