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Not a book I would normally read, however, my wife was given a copy of the book “The Power of 100: 100 Women 100 Visions 100 Years of International Women’s Day” as for Christmas from Janet Beckers, author and complier of the book. As my wife was a contributing author I decided I should at least read her chapter. Thumbing through the book I found some interesting chapter titles and read a few more that I thought I would.

In the book 100 women each contribute a single chapter providing stories on how to stay focused on your dreams. The women come from all over the world and all walks of life. The women all have moved from their distinct backgrounds into business women and entrepreneurs and in all types of businesses from pet sitter to psychotherapist, from photojournalist to fertility specialist and may have gained a Phd through formal education or just have been schooled in the University of Life. What I particularly like is that each story is only a few pages long so I can read a chapter quickly as a short breaker between jobs. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

In early 2012 a great new product is going to hit the streets in Australia.

The new sockITz outlet combines twin USB powered charging outlets with an Australian Standard dual 240v power socket to allow charging of mobile devices under the new universal charging guidelines for mobile phones set to come in effect in 2012.

The twin USB sockets are perfect for charging current mobile phones, including iphones, ipads, ipods, other mp3 players, GPS navigation devices, cameras etc. With sockITz your device plugs straight into the USB socket on the power point and leaves the two 240V plugs free for your normal home appliances so you no longer do you need those bulky charging transformers. When not in use the ports are concealed by retractable dust covers. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Well only 369 days since my last post. I am, and I am pleased to say, completely over EzyDVD. So this blog will now be devoted to stuff……

My daughter, Rhiannon (aged 15), has been asking Santa for some Skull Candy headphones. We tried to order some from the Skull Candy website without any success. Last Friday I heard an ad on the radio for the Harvey Norman store in Fyshwick, ACT. They were going to have a head phone sale and demonstration the next day. As a dutiful “Santa Proxy” I let my daughter know and so the next day the family and I trundled off to the store. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

As you can see it has been a long time since my last post on the blog. The fact is that while our experience with EzyDVD left us with a large financial burden (we are still dealing with that) I have lost interest in it.

As a last hoorah on the theme of an ex-EzyDVD franchisee I decided to see how many bricks and mortar stores still exist. I was not particularly surprised to find that there are now only 10 stores left. So in the two years since the original franchisor went broke 48 stores have shut. Very sad for those other franchisees who have lost out.

Anyway this is my last post on EzyDVD.

Since I got out of EzyDVD I have completed my electrical apprenticeship in just 3 years, wining “CIT Most Outstanding 3rd Year apprentice” in 2010 (CIT - Canberra Institute of Technology) and run my own electrical company, AES Technology. We are an electrical company with a green bent, specialising in Solar PV and energy efficient LED lighting.

So, the new focus of this blog will be more along the lines of current happening in my life rather that all that baggage. I hope you find future posts of interest.

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Well it has been quite a while since I have posted on this blog, my new business has kept me very busy. However, on a whim today I thought that I would take a look at the EzyDVD Website and see what is going on.

Looking through the “Visit our Stores” section I counted only 18 Bricks and Mortar stores left. 17 of these are Franchisee owned and only 1 is company owned. When EzyDVD went into receivership last December there were 58 stores including 32 owned by Franchisees. So what has happened to all the stores? Read the rest of this entry »

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It has been done before and now is being done again. You can bag your own EzyDVD Franchise store right now on EBay. Check out EzyDVD Retail Franchise Business For Sale

Bidding starts at just 99 cents so get in quick. Auction Ends 8 PM 11 March 2009

Popularity: 45% [?]

I was just down at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome (in Canberra) and I noticed that the EzyDVD Store there is closed. Not only closed, but all the stock has been taken out of it, as has the Plasma Display on the wall. It would seem that even though Franchise Entertainment Group (FEG) bought EzyDVD head office a few weeks ago, it was a case of too little too late for that franchisee.

I spoke to a friend who lives over near Belconnen and they said that the store there closed down last Wednesday. It seems they closed for Stocktake and then took the stock. There was no closing down sale as far as I can tell so it looks like the franchisee just packed up and left.

The franchisee in question has, as far as I know, a couple of stores in South Australia, maybe one in Victoria. I wonder if they are still operating.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Well it has been a week since it was announced that Franchise Entertainment Group (FEG) bought EzyDVD and it seems that little news worthy has happened yet. I do wonder however what will become of the thousands of dollars worth of gift cards that where sold in the lead up to Christmas, only to be dishonoured when the card holders tried to buy DVDs with them.

According to reports, EzyDVD went into receivership with debts of $18 million. According to Ferrier Hodgson’s Press Release, “the group purchased the EzyDVD brand and online business, the franchise network, as
well as stock, plant and equipment and 11 company-owned EzyDVD stores.” Other reports say that FEG paid $10 million for the assets of EzyDVD. This would appear to leave a $8 million hole yet to be filled. Read the rest of this entry »

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According to this News report EzyDVD Pty Ltd has been sold to the Franchise Entertainment Group.

It looks like 15 of the 26 company owned stores that were open at the time EzyDVD went into receivership have closed or soon will be. The remaining 11 company owned stores will move over to the Franchise Entertainment Group who manage the Blockbuster and VideoEzy groups. As for the 32 franchised stores, there seems to be no news announced regarding the mechanics of the transfer and how it will affect them. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 44% [?]

Yesterday, Friday 9 January 2009, was the last day for offers by potential buyers of the beleaguered EzyDVD Pty Ltd. As yet there seems to be no word out whether the receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, has had any offers or not. I would guess that the current franchisees will be waiting with baited breath for an announcement on Monday.

Even if a buyer has been found, this does not mean smooth sailing for those franchisees. As it seems that some of the losses incurred by EzyDVD were due to poorly performing Bricks and Mortar stores, it is possible that a buyer could buy the company just for the online arm of the business. If this is the case the buyer may not honour existing franchise agreements. So buyer or not - what now for the EzyDVD franchisees? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 46% [?]