THOMPSON Street is set to have a new look in a few months’ time when Network Video and Entertainment Hamilton move locations and Gen Health takes up residence in their old building.

Network and Video Entertainment Hamilton isn’t moving far, with their new home being the former Che’z Diane building located at 97a Thompson Street.

Network Video and Entertainment Hamilton Manager, Justin Slade said the new location allowed them to update the store and give it a new name - Countless Cards and Collectables.

“It’ll be a little bit of a rebrand and a fresh start,” he said.

“We’ve moved into the trading card business so that’s going to be a major focus now.

“It is big business; we’ve been doing it for about seven or eight months and it’s growing rapidly.”

However, despite the new focus, Mr Slade said he wanted to reassure locals all existing products including sports merchandise, music equipment and DVDs would be available at the new store.

“We’ll have all the same stuff,” he said.

“We think we’ve found a way to squeeze it all in, we probably just won't have as much out on display.

“It’s going to be more collectable stuff but we’re still going to rent videos and have them available for people to buy.”

Store owner, Chris Slade said she thought it was good the business was branching out into collectable cards and sports merchandise as it would help them remain competitive by entering a new market.

“You have to evolve in retail at the moment, you can’t just keep doing the same thing,” she said.

“You have to keep coming up with new things or you won’t survive.

Despite the countless streaming services on offer these days, Mr Slade said the DVD side of their business was still in demand, especially throughout the pandemic.

“We were one of the businesses that actually saw growth over the last two years because everyone was stuck at home watching movies,” he said.

“There are some people that rely on places like us as they don't have a choice because they need to have top speed internet to access the streaming services and they live in places where they don’t have that.

“And we’ve got a much wider range than any streaming service.”

The store was temporarily closed on Friday, however, locals can still contact the shop through Slade’s Newsagency or their Facebook page if needed.

Mr Slade said he hoped the new shop would be up and running by early March.

“We’re slowly getting moved in up there,” he said.

“There’s a little bit of work to be done on the shop yet but we've done most of the construction, we’ve opened everything up and now it’s mainly just decorating.”

After operating from the 132-138 Thompson Street store for the past six years, Ms Slade said moving was a big task but the team were excited for the reopening.

“We will be excited when we get it moved,” she said.

“It’s been a big job, the boys have been at it for about three weeks.

“I don’t think we realised just how much stuff we had here, but we really filled the place.”

Plans are in motion for the previous video store to become Gen Health’s new multilevel allied health centre, with facilities including a full exercise physiology gym, two reformer therapy/pilates studios, a retail space, paediatric specific space and private treatment rooms.

The facility will have increased clinic space to house the growing team of Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Exercise Physiology, Occupational Therapy and Clinical Reformer Therapy professionals.

Gen Health director, Jessica Fishburn said the business had outgrown their existing premises and she hoped the Thompson Street clinic would be open by mid-year so patients could access all their services under one roof.

“It will be the same vibrant and inclusive team, just in a bigger, more accessible location,” she said.

“Our team of highly skilled health professionals has grown and we are excited to be able to expand to include the latest evidence-based technology for our treatments.

“We’ve been really thankful to the community for their support since we announced the move, it’s very exciting.

Ms Fishburn said the team at Gen Health was constantly growing as the business expanded to meet the growing health needs of the Hamilton area and ensure patients were provided with a high level of care.

“COVID-19 has impacted on our health in so many ways, individuals have missed routine screenings and we have been unable to take proactive steps to prevent disease and illness.

“We hope with a larger space we will be able to service a larger population as well as deliver community education sessions to keep our wonderful community thriving.

“Our mission is unchanged - together strengthening the health of our local community.”

Gen Health is one of five finalists for the Telstra 2022 Best of Business Awards in the Outstanding Growth category with the state winners announced later this month.