Video Sanctum Acquires Legacy Collection From Houston’s Oldest Video Retailer
May 14, 2015 (HOUSTON) -- Video Sanctum, LLC, an exclusive online retailer of rare and out-of-print horror and exploitation films on retro video formats, has acquired the retail inventory and related archives from Audio/Video Plus (AVP), one of the longest standing video retail establishments in the US. The acquisition includes more than 100,000 items with uncirculated and factory-sealed horror VHS, Laserdisc and Beta stock available to video collectors worldwide on VideoSanctum.com.
AVP’s inventory comprises more than 30 years of cultural artifacts that tell the story of Houston’s premier retail video store. During its run, AVP maintained a rental library of more than 60,000 titles on a variety of formats. Many of the titles purchased by Video Sanctum were part of AVP’s original inventory from the late-70s through the mid-80s, at the height of the video retail and rental boom.
“The AVP collection represents an entire history of the Video Era, from its start in the 1970s through its resurgence in today’s video collector community,” says Tayvis Dunnahoe, Video Sanctum founder and CEO. “After AVP shuttered in 2012, Video Sanctum set a goal to preserve one of the last remaining inventories of its kind, which is an important part of Houston’s film and cinema entertainment history. This vision is in line with Yale University’s recent acquisition of VHS titles for its permanent collection, the first university to actively collect video tapes and horror VHS as cultural artifacts. We are honored to be entrusted with this legacy collection and to make it available to the online video community we serve.”
Founded in 1979 in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, AVP evolved from a small local storefront to become one of the largest retailers in the US. By 1984, AVP was named the No. 1 video store in the country by Video Store magazine. Because of AVP’s leading status in the 1980s, earning more than $1.5 million in sales, the video retailer stood as one of the select few in the country to buy studio-direct.
Since 2010, Video Sanctum has developed relationships with collectors in more than 15 countries and continues to unveil some the rarest, highest quality conditioned tapes known to the video community. In 2014, Video Sanctum secured the distribution rights for Video Hunter’s Guide, which provides indices and realized values for more than 70,000 titles. Video Sanctum is an authorized dealer of original VHS cover artwork by Corey Wolfe, whose work appears on several iconic horror VHS releases such as Magnum Entertainment’s Drive-In Massacre, Vestron’s Chopping Mall and The Kindred.
About Video Sanctum
Founded in 2010, Video Sanctum is a leading international retailer of rare, hard-to-find video releases on a wide range of “dead media” formats. With a penchant for horror and exploitation cinema, the company houses film artifacts and ephemera spanning the pre-digital era. Video Sanctum is owned and operated by collectors who value the historical significance of genre film and media. It prides itself on delivering quality vintage collectibles to dedicated horror and exploitation VHS/Beta and other retro format fans worldwide.