Chartbusters

---

title: "Chartbusters" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["irish-brands", "retail-companies-established-in-1993", "companies-based-in-dublin-(city)", "video-rental-services", "irish-companies-established-in-1993"] description: "Irish video rental chain" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartbusters" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Irish video rental chain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Chartbusters
logo	Chartbusters_logo.png
logo_caption	Logo as of 2004
type	Private limited company
industry	Video rental
predecessor
founded
founder	Richard Murphy
defunct
fate	Liquidation
successor
num_locations	16
num_locations_year	2010
area_served	Ireland
num_employees_year
website
::

| name = Chartbusters | logo = Chartbusters_logo.png | logo_caption = Logo as of 2004 | image = | image_caption = | type = Private limited company | industry = Video rental | predecessor = | founded = | founder = Richard Murphy | defunct = | fate = Liquidation | successor = | hq_location_city = | hq_location_country = | num_locations = 16 | num_locations_year = 2010 | area_served = Ireland | key_people = | products = | owner = | num_employees = | num_employees_year = | parent = | website =

Chartbusters was an Irish video rental chain founded by former Xtra-vision chief executive, Richard Murphy.

History

Chartbusters was founded by Richard Murphy following his departure from Xtra-vision in 1990. His exit contract with the latter included a non-competitive clause that ran until 1994. Chartbusters was registered on as Chartbusters Limited. The chain rented out VHS/DVDs and games, and sold VHS/DVDs, computer games, cassettes and books. The first two locations opened in Tallaght and Blanchardstown.

Stores

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Chartbusters_(Kilmacud)_-_After_The_Fire.jpg" caption="Fire damaged premises in [[Stillorgan]], 2011"] ::

The first store that opened was in Blanchardstown followed by the second in Tallaght, both of which were classed as superstores and were reported to be generating £6,500 to £7,000 per week in 1994. In 2003, stores began to offer stand tanning under the company's tan.ie branding in the outlets. At the height of their popularity, in 2004, the chain had 52 stores across Ireland. By 2009, there were 44 stores open.

On , a fire broke out in the vacant Chartbusters store in Stillorgan resulting in the adjacent restaurant and Mill House pub to be evacuated.

Liquidation

In 2009, Chartbusters' debts mounted to €20 million and they declared that they had gone bust, later going into examinership. The company made an announcement that they were to cease trading on with the loss of 87 jobs. The petition for winding up was struck out on .

References

References

1. (10 May 2003). "Richard Murphy".
2. Lattimore, John. (8 December 1993). "Murphy returns to take on Xtra-Vision". [[Irish Press]].
3. Guerin, Veronica. (3 April 1994). "Vouchers may cost Xtravision £6.5m". [[Sunday Independent (Ireland).
4. (23 June 2003). "Chartbusters Home Entertainment".
5. (20 June 2003). "Home".
6. (2004-07-27). "Chartbusters Home Entertainment".
7. (16 Jan 2009). "Store locations...".
8. (2011-01-23). "Diners forced to evacuate after fire outbreak".
9. (2008-09-29). "Fire on Lower Kilmacud Rd. (Chartbusters)".
10. (8 January 2009). "Chartbusters goes bust as debts mount up to €20m".
11. "Court told 17 Chartbusters shops to close". The Irish Times.
12. (29 Oct 2010). "Chartbusters to cease trading". The Irish Times.
13. (29 Oct 2010). "Chartbusters to close all 16 stores".
14. (2010-10-30). "87 jobs are lost as Chartbusters shuts DVD stores".
15. "Chartbusters Limited - Irish Company Info - Vision-Net".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::