Civic Video

Australia

Civic Video was formed in Australia in 1985, initially as a buying group for several independent video stores before becoming a franchised company in 1989. Its head office was located in Alexandria, Sydney, with state operations offices in Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. Civic Video is a trade name used by Civic Retailing Proprietary Limited. The principal shareholders of Civic Video also owned VOD Proprietary Limited.

In the mid-1990s the company was Australia's second-largest video rental chain. In 1996, Civic operated over 250 stores in the country, and opened a new store every month. However, by 2018 only 12 stores remained in Australia. The company shut its head office in June that same year. By January 2019, only a half-dozen outlets still existed, with the Bunbury store in Western Australia's southwest preparing to close its doors after a 30-year stint. In November 2019, only three Civic stores remained in Australia. On 28 February 2023 the last surviving Civic store in Windsor, New South Wales, closed after 38 years in operation.

New Zealand

CIVIC New Zealand was launched on 1 December 1998 with 28 stores. The New Zealand head office was located in Auckland, and at its peak boasted over 22,000 followers on Facebook.

In 2018 their website listed 20 outlets remaining in New Zealand. In January 2019, it was reported that only a half-dozen outlets still existed, with one facing imminent closure. In January 2022 the last remaining New Zealand store in Tauranga closed.