60,000 DVDs with an estimated value of at least £720,000 were
destroyed in the Sony warehouse blaze in Enfield, north London, as
rioters continued to bring destruction to the capital.
The company, which specialises in arthouse and queer cinema, has
distributed award-winning films such as XXY, Summer Storm and Eyes
Wide Open.
Today, manager Tom Abell spoke to DIVA's sister site PinkPaper.com
exclusively.
"All of our DVDs have gone. The Sony warehouse held almost all of
our stock and now we have nothing to sell," he said.
Abell, who was on holiday abroard when he heard the news, added:
"I got a call at 4am UK time this morning saying that the warehouse
was on fire. It has since burned to the ground. It's completely
destroyed."
He is currently traveling back to the UK to assess the extent of
the damage.
"It dents our cash flow enormously. In the short-term we have to
re-arrange things, such as re-schedule our August releases, so for
the next couple of months things will be tight."
"But it's not just our stock. Lots of independent record labels
had their stock at the warehouse so it's devastating for many small
businesses, not to mention Sony."
Despite this, Abell is confident that it will not have long-term
implications on the company.
"We are now starting to replace our stock, so this should only be
a short-term issue" he said.
When asked how he feels about the riots that are happening across
the UK, Abell said:
"There are lots of people taking the opportunity to loot and
steal, but these riots don't happen unless there is a root cause.
It's not just people being greedy. There has to be a social
problem, which will now need to be addressed.
"It's just a shame that so many of us have to suffer. That said,
these people who are responsible should be brought to justice and
punished."
