London’s last DVD-only shop is at risk of closing down— but locals are trying to raise £5,000 to keep it open.
For Your Eyes Only, in south-east London’s Forest Hill neighbourhood, has been open since 1998. It has survived the closure of DVD chains such as Blockbuster and the advent of streaming services like Netflix.
But the pandemic, as well as an incident last year where a parked car rolled down the street and crashed into the shop front, has put it at risk of closure for good.
Now, locals are rallying together to save For Your Eyes Only, owned by Gulam Charania, by donating to a GoFundMe with a goal of £5,000.
Amber Little, who set up the GoFundMe page, wrote: “It would be a huge loss to our local area to see For Your Eyes Only close its doors.
“We are hoping to raise £5,000 to save this South East London institution from closure. Please help support London’s last remaining film rental shop!”
At the time of writing, the fundraiser had raised £1,425, with more than 70 people having contributed since March 1.
One local, Kyle Wernham, said: “A core memory of my childhood, I wish Gu and FYEO best of luck, and hope they can keep making great memories for their customers in and around Forest Hill through their business.”
Another fan, Lauren Lepke-Brown, said: “Love this shop. Have always rented DVDs from here since we first moved here ten years ago. Would be sad to see it go.”
Mr Charania, the shop’s owner, said the support had been “amazing”. He added: “I’m shocked. I’m really, really shocked. I’m surprised.
“A lot of people have come in to say they’re sorry to see me go.”
He credited the locals’ loyalty for his shop being able to stay open up to this point and said: “I’m getting people I’ve never seen before wanting me to stay open.
“They just want a shop like mine to be around.”
In response to the fundraiser (which he had nothing to do with), he said: “All I can say is thank you very much for your loyalty and support in the past few weeks, it’s really surprised me.”
Mr Charania also believes Lewisham Council could be doing more to prevent the incident with the car rolling down the hill from happening again, such as having bollards placed on the road. However, he said: “No one’s bothered answering me.”
A Lewisham Council spokesperson told the Evening Standard: “Our Business Engagement team have met with the owner of For Your Eyes Only to discuss the support that is available and could enable this much-loved local business to remain open.
“We are committed to supporting local businesses across Lewisham, with our work supporting business recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic receiving a national award from the Federation of Small Businesses Awards last year.”
They added: “We continue working to improve road safety across the borough as well, working in partnership with Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police. Where requests for interventions in specific locations are received, we will review and assess these as part of our wider plans.”
