WALTHAMSTOW: Family-run business hits out over closure

12:16pm Monday 30th June 2008

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A FAMILY-RUN business has been forced to close after 27 years - and its manager has blamed illegal DVD sellers and parking attendants for its demise.

Trudy and Keith Tuffs have been running video shops in Waltham Forest for nearly three decades.

They opened their first T & K Videos shop in Leyton High Road, which was distinctively decorated with shiny images of film stars and directors, in 1981.

They went on to open other stores in Lea Bridge Road, Chingford Hatch, Newbury Park and Hoe Street.

But the business lost money and the stores were gradually sold off or closed down.

On Monday (30) the last T & K shop, which has been in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, since 1988, closed.

Mrs Tuffs spoke of her sadness: "I am absolutely gutted, we have made so many friends here, there are not many shops where you get invited to customers' weddings and funerals.

"People have been giving us cards and flowers, it will be really hard to walk away."

Mrs Tuffs said there were a number of reasons why T & K videos has been losing business, including stricter parking enforcement, an increase in counterfeit DVD sellers, and the rise in popularity of video chain stores and internet downloads.

Regarding the council's parking policies, Mrs Tuffs said: "Their officers wait outside for people to park so they can use our store and then they ticket them.

"It has got to the point where I have to pass customers a video through the window as their car is still moving."

Sales of illegal DVDs in Walthamstow and Leyton have also had an effect.

Mrs Tuffs said: "We get the latest DVD releases but people come in and say they already have them.

"People say 'why should we buy one for £3.50 when we can get four for a tenner in the High Street?' but they don't realise how bad the quality is or the damage it causes."

The problem of illegal DVD sellers in Waltham Forest has accelerated in recent years, particularly in Walthamstow High Street and Leyton Mills shopping area.

The market is often linked to organise crime and the sellers are often trafficked workers.

Mrs Tuffs now plans to run a DVD home delivery service.

For more details call Mrs Tuffs on 07590 662 032.