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RENTAL ROUNDUP

Carr Gottstein Extends Rentalsn Foods has changed its rental rate structure to allow customers to keep children's videos out for longer periods, said Gary Schloss, vice president, general merchandise.Beginning earlier this month, the retailer changed from one night for 99 cents to three nights for 99 cents. The change was prompted by letters and comments made to store personnel."When parents rent

Carr Gottstein Extends Rentals

n Foods has changed its rental rate structure to allow customers to keep children's videos out for longer periods, said Gary Schloss, vice president, general merchandise.

Beginning earlier this month, the retailer changed from one night for 99 cents to three nights for 99 cents. The change was prompted by letters and comments made to store personnel.

"When parents rent a children's video, the kids watch it over and over for the next two or three days," said Schloss. "Parents have asked us a few times, 'Why can't we rent it for longer?' " Carr Gottstein promoted the change in its weekly ads and with signs, he noted.

Baker & Taylor OKs Switch

MORTON GROVE, Ill. -- Baker & Taylor Entertainment has reached an agreement to license the retail transaction reporting software of SuperComm, Dallas, and, separately, to offer retailers the program of Rentrak Corp., Portland, Ore.

Rentrak titles will be available immediately, while the SuperComm program will begin in July or August.

The video distributor is changing its internal systems to accommodate the SuperComm system. Product from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, Calif., and Warner Home Video, also of Burbank, will be offered on a revenue-sharing basis in the new arrangement. Baker & Taylor expects to add other studios in the future. Buena Vista and SuperComm are Disney subsidiaries.

With the Rentrak Pay-Per-Transaction program, the distributor will handle physical distribution of Rentrak product for customers who choose that system, Baker & Taylor said in a press release. Rentrak offers product from Buena Vista; Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Beverly Hills, Calif.; MGM Home Entertainment, Santa Monica, Calif.; and Universal Studios Home Video, Universal City, Calif., according to industry sources.

"Our commitment to traditional distribution remains strong, but this is all about choice," said Rich Czuba, executive vice president and general manager of Baker & Taylor. "Certain accounts use revenue-sharing systems, while for others it's not the best alternative. No two customers are alike. They all have unique needs," he said.

"The decision to offer revenue sharing as an alternative to customers was not made lightly," said Bill Polich, executive vice president. "We met with retailers across the country in a series of 'town hall' meetings on the subject. What we heard was that revenue sharing is not for all titles and it's not for everybody. It's a choice retailers should make based on the individual needs of their own business."

Specific terms of the agreements are "functionally similar" to those Rentrak and SuperComm have with other distributors, said Polich. "We'll compete very effectively for this business, but we won't offer it where it doesn't make sense," he said.

Top 10 Supermarket Video Rental Titles

Title (Weeks Out) Studio Retail Last Week

1 Scream 2 (1) Buena Vista $107.37 New

2 As Good As It Gets (4 Columbia $23.96 1

3 Home Alone 3 (2) Fox $22.95 2

4 Starship Troopers (4) Columbia $107.37 4

5 Mousehunt (6) Dreamworks $22.99 2

6 The Rainmaker (2) Paramount $105.77 6

7 Tomorrow Never Dies (5) MGM $105.77 5

8 Flubber (8) Buena Vista $22.99 3

9 The Jackal (7) Universal $107.37 8

10 L.A. Confidential (8) Warner $107.37 9

This chart, tailored for the supermarket video market, is based on information taken from more than 1,000 supermarket rental locations serviced by Ingram Entertainment, La Vergne, Tenn.