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BUENA VISTA'S VIDEO MARCH

MANUFACTURER OUTLOOKBURBANK, Calif. -- Buena Vista Home Video here has unveiled an ambitious lineup of video releases designed to boost volume to record levels especially at supermarkets during the latter half of the year."We'll drive profitable growth for supermarkets from May through December with over 30% annual growth, and over $1.1 billion in retail sales from us alone," said Dennis Maguire,

MANUFACTURER OUTLOOK

BURBANK, Calif. -- Buena Vista Home Video here has unveiled an ambitious lineup of video releases designed to boost volume to record levels especially at supermarkets during the latter half of the year.

"We'll drive profitable growth for supermarkets from May through December with over 30% annual growth, and over $1.1 billion in retail sales from us alone," said Dennis Maguire, senior vice president of sales and distribution of the Walt Disney subsidiary. Retailers attending this week's FMI Show can preview the full assortment of titles and a slew of tie-ins with promotional partners like General Mills, Kodak, Energizer Batteries, and Leever 2000. The partners and Disney will spend over $200 million in advertising and promotional support on the programs scheduled to run in the second half of the year.

The summer/fall lineup includes fresh theatrical releases: "Tom and Huck" on May 1; "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco," July 31; "Muppet Treasure Island," September 11; and a theatrical re-releasing of "Oliver and Company" due out September 25.

"All of those titles will have great demand in the market, and they won't necessarily be footballed in price," said Maguire.

The big fourth-quarter releases will be "Toy Story" on October 30. Industry insiders say Disney's "James and the Giant Peach," currently playing in theaters, also will be part of the holiday push. "Aladdin and the King of Thieves," which will be released on August 14 and stars Robin Williams, is slated to be the final installment in a series that established the direct-to-video segment.

"We're really excited about this title because we're delivering Hollywood's hottest actor in the summer's biggest movie direct to grocery stores across America on day one," said Maguire.

"It's the ultimate video window. It will be a world premiere and event. Typically, a movie with this star power and hype would open on 2,000 to 2,500 screens. It will be available in over 100,000 retail outlets across America on day one. So, for the price of taking the family to the movies you can own Hollywood's hottest summer release."

The lineup also is comprised of sing-alongs, seasonal, repriced live action and animated children's titles.

The advertising and promotional support will include nine free-standing inserts from September to December, television advertising, trade ads, and in-store ads and display materials.

He encouraged the grocery trade to back these promotions for the value they will offer consumers and the profits they will generate for retailers. Maguire disputes reports that the video business is not in a growth mode at present. He said Buena Vista is well on its way to celebrating yet another record-breaking year. Last year analysts put Buena Vista's record sales, greatly assisted by "The Lion King," just past the $2 billion mark.

"We believe this is an expanding business. It's incredibly huge and fast growing, and the grocery trade is growing at the quickest rate," Maguire said.

Surprisingly, momentum at grocery is currently being driven by the Disney Masterpiece promotion involving a trivia contest and Happy Meals in McDonald's outlets acrosss the country..

"The numbers are staggering," said Maguire about the fast-food chain's largest video event to date. Its impact can be seen when comparing single week sales to the same week in 1995, when video sales were up 186%, said Maguire.

The promotion has brought Disney Masterpiece titles like "Mary Poppins" and its animated moratorium classics to the forefront of the market. Sales of "Cinderella" and "The Lion King" have risen dramatically in the same time frame as the promotion, Maguire pointed out.

However, there are no plans to extend moratorium dates on any titles due to the success of the promotion. This will be the last year for "The Lion King" and "Cinderella," Maguire said.

The only downside, Maguire said, is that supermarkets won't carry enough product to support the demand the McDonald's promotion is generating. "People are searching out this product. If the product isn't in stores, it won't sell," he said. Another area of growth for Disney is in the rental business, which has been soft for many retailers. The company is supporting rental through media spending, and by what Maguire refers to as "creative marketing techniques" through another Disney subsidiary, Supercomm, Dallas, a shared transaction fee program supplier.. The challenge for food retailers, as Maguire sees it, is to make sure they get their share of this expanding video market. He believes there are too few grocery retailers merchandising the whole video category.