Kroger Banners Expand DVD Rental Kiosks in West

Feb 6, 2007 3:00 AM

HOUSTON -- TNR Entertainment Corp., which owns and operates DVD rental kiosks in a number of supermarkets, said yesterday it will install 174 of the devices in Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Fry‘s stores in California, Nevada and Arizona. All three are banners of Kroger Co., Cincinnati, which has announced with TNR plans to put 1,300 automated DVD rental kiosks in stores this year. This marks the first presence of TNR machines -- also known as The New Release -- in the region, the company said. So far, TNR has installed 26 rental kiosks in Fry‘s stores in the Phoenix and Tucson areas of Arizona, and 15 more at Food 4 Less locations in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev. All are owned and operated by TNR. An additional 91 kiosks are planned for Arizona this year, and another 90 for California stores. Additional West Coast expansion plans for 2007 include more than 50 kiosks in Washington and Oregon. “Our relationship with Kroger has enabled us to enter these markets quickly with a substantial deployment of kiosks,” said Jeff Karbowiak, TNR‘s chief operating officer.