July 19, 2004
MovieBankUSA Begins U.S. Rollout of Self-service DVD Rental Outlets
According to Crain's NY Business, MovieBankUSA has signed a lease for their second North American location. The parent company, MovieBank, has been successful with their self-service DVD and video game rental outlets in Europe, and they plan on rolling out the concept in the U.S nationwide. MovieBankUSA's first location is scheduled to open in Manhattan (SoHo) at the beginning of August, with ten more New York City locations to follow. With a Similar design to the large ATM centers, MovieBankUSA locations will offer 24 hour access and multiple rental units. Registered members will be able to reserve copies at home using the internet, and the rental machines will hold the selected titles for three hours. If a title is out of stock, the member will be notified when the title they want has been returned. The machines are designed to hold 500+ titles, with the majority being new releases. Rental prices will be as low as .99 cents per rental for members.
With the anticipated rise of downloadable movies and VOD in the next several years, it seems strange for a new company to make such a substantial investment in "meatspace." But if they do prove popular here in the states, what will the implications be for DVD marketers? Given the limited breadth of selection, it could seem to be a boon mostly for the studios, unless MovieBankUSA customizes title selections based on the tastes of each store's demographics. While not impossible, customized offerings by location is a difficult thing for retailers to execute -- for example, The Gap had some problems last year tailoring their offerings to regional tastes despite their skills in analyzing sales data. The real victim, if this is successful, will end up being the already-battered Blockbuster and other mega rental chains specializing in wide releases.
I will post some pictures of the new location in SoHo when it opens.
Related Links:
Automated Distribution Technologies
The Self-service Revolution
Crain's New York Business
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