The recent closure of the Movie Gallery store in Aberdeen is unrelated to the company’s financial woes in the U.S., says local management.

Nick Smith, the manager of Movie Gallery’s Tranquille Road location, said the Hillside Drive store was closed after the business’s owners decided not to pay increased lease fees demanded by the building’s owners. The lease had expired.

The Aberdeen location closed about two weeks ago.

The Tranquille Road store continues to operate strongly, Smith said, and all customers who had PowerPlay memberships there will find active accounts at the North Shore location.

Anyone with unreturned movies from the Aberdeen store is also asked to bring them back to the North Shore store.

In the U.S., Movie Gallery Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection. It plans to close about 800 stores there, roughly a third of the chain. The company has closed more than 2,400 stores in the past three years amid growing competition from online video distributors and bargain rental kiosks.