A husband-and-wife team who own and manage an independent video shop chain has been named the best in the business for the second year running.

Lynn and Trevor Cobb, who run Tomorrow's World, won the Independent Rental Success of the Year category at the British Video Association (BVA) awards.

The pair were handed a trophy by television presenter Amanda Lamb at a star-studded ceremony at the Battersea Park Arena in London, attended by 800 guests.

Judges - from companies such as Sony Pictures, Universal and Coutts UK - were impressed with their marketing strategies, in-store presentations and sales figures.

Lynn said: "In our industry these awards are taken very seriously so we are delighted to have won for the second year running.

It's not easy for independents like ourselves up against the big multiple retailers so it's nice to have a bit of the limelight for a change."

Lynn said the shift from video to DVD has been "very expensive" as many of the shops customers had been reluctant to make the change to digital.

Competition from retailers such as play.com and Tesco, which sell DVDs at bargain-basement prices, and piracy was also squeezing the rental market.

The Cobbs, who live in Southwick, West Sussex, have been in business for 21 years and now own stores in Hove, Southwick, Seven Dials, Lancing, Worthing and Billingshurst.

Their first shop in Boundary Road, Hove, specialised in computer games for Commodore and Spectrum. They then moved into videos and DVDs.

The BVA awards celebrate achievement in all areas of British video including suppliers, distributors and retailers and is endorsed by some of the biggest names in the industry.

This year's ceremony was hosted by comedian Sean Lock.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006