SAN FRANCISCO — General Video/Adult Supersource, a one-stop wholesale distributor that has been a Bay-area staple for a decade and a half, is closing its doors.
In a message to clients, owner David Sturman said Tuesday:
"It is with a touch of sadness that I must inform you that we will be closing General Video/Adult Supersource on June 14th. We will not be placing any additional orders with you after today. We had a great run together and I look forward to continued business but in a different way.
"We are reviewing our accounting records and will pay any outstanding invoices in a timely fashion. We will be in contact with you to confirm our current balance owed and to arrange for the solution of our outstanding issues, if any."
Sturman continued, "... I want to thank you for your past support and continued business. I couldn’t describe how much we appreciate and are thankful for having you as a supplier. In the past we have faced challenging hurdles and have made many changes in order to stay profitable. These changes include huge expense reductions, changes in our marketing strategy, and closely monitoring all our purchasing of products and supplies. We have made these changes in the face of a recession that has no end in sight but are committed to ride out the poor economy and look ahead to the future."
Sturman, who also owns Sin City Films and 30 retail stores, told XBIZ the building in which they were headquartered in San Francisco simply became too big for the operation.
"We under-grew the building and because of all the competition and the internet and other factors it didn’t make sense to continue with the wholesale businesses," Sturman said. "So we're closing General Video, our DVD distribution business. And I was my own biggest customer. I decided that since I have an office suite in San Mateo, we're moving all our clerks and our bookkeepers over there and we're going stick with our core business which is retail, and position ourselves for the future."
Sturman said he has a DVD distribution deal with Pure Play for Sin City movies, and that he would be buying product direct for all his stores.
He added, "We’ll continue to support all our suppliers and vendors as we have in the past. And I want to thank all the people I’ve done business with over the years. I look forward to a couple more decades of doing business with them."