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THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The video rental departments in Vons Cos. supermarkets are ready for the future of entertainment software. Because Marbles Entertainment started up this operation in the last year, it enjoyed the advantage of designing the video shops so they can readily evolve into total entertainment centers as the industry changes.einstein, vice president of Marbles."In a few years, everything

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The video rental departments in Vons Cos. supermarkets are ready for the future of entertainment software. Because Marbles Entertainment started up this operation in the last year, it enjoyed the advantage of designing the video shops so they can readily evolve into total entertainment centers as the industry changes.

einstein, vice president of Marbles.

"In a few years, everything will be on the same size CD. Our Marbles Entertainment stores are perfectly positioned to move into the future as total entertainment centers," he said.

The name "Marbles" was chosen because it connotes a fun and entertaining activity known to everyone, said Feinstein. "Marbles was one of the first forms of interactive entertainment," he noted.

During the Christmas holidays, budget music at price points under $10 "did exceptionally well," said Feinstein. "Music ties into the whole entertainment center atmosphere, where customers can go to one place for all their home entertainment needs, and it is inside the supermarket for complete one-stop shopping."

Since most of its departments were opened at a time when the video game business was in flux, inventories of the older, 16-bit games are lean. But selections of new platforms, including Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, CD-ROM and Nintendo 64, are in the process of being increased.

New releases are about 40% of rental inventory in the Marbles shops, among the higher percentages for supermarket video departments. "You want to fill customer demand. By operating our own stores, we are able to track when a movie has earned its money back and when we can put it out for sale as a previously viewed title. That's using your return on investment and making sure that you make the most out of each video," said Feinstein. The company has tested the shared-transaction-fee program from Rentrak Corp., Portland, Ore., but has put it on hold, waiting for a major title that it can do a big guaranteed-availability promotion on, he said.

Meanwhile, Marbles is adding rental inventory. "It is important to customers that they can find everything that they want," said Feinstein. This means bringing in more "B" titles. "You don't have to buy 'B' titles in huge quantities, but people like to know that you've picked them up, and they make their money back," he said. While Vons carries the big sell-through new releases in the main store, Marbles has a good selection of catalog movies for sale, and other lines such as "Barney" and the "Cops: Too Hot for TV" title, as well as previously viewed.

Special orders are an important part of Marbles' customer services, said Feinstein. "If the managers get a deposit of $5, they can order the movie directly from our distributor, and then it is at the store within one or two days." Marbles uses Ingram Entertainment, La Vergne, Tenn., which has a branch in nearby Orange, Calif.

"That's a big plus and it's a part of customer service. We are going to be doing that with the music, too," he said.

Drop boxes are located outside the supermarkets for the convenience of customers, said Feinstein. With drop boxes, Marbles gets more of its movies back. "People might be too embarrassed to bring them back late, but they don't mind putting them in the drop box," he said.

Monitors play an important part in Marbles approach to merchandising. The Torrance, Calif., store visited by SN had a total of six monitors: one big-screen television in a children's area, three others on the upper walls, and two on the outside facing the checkouts.