'ROCKY' SCORES A KO AT ALBERTSON'S

JUDY CORCORAN

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertson's here is aggressively marketing all five "Rocky" videos, which were released with a suggested retail price of $9.99.

The retailer is offering the "Rocky" tapes for $7.99 each, or two for $15, one of the lowest price points for new videos to date. MGM/UA Home Entertainment, Santa Monica, Calif., released all five "Rocky" tapes on April 16.

The "Rocky" tapes are being sold in a 200-piece shipper that includes other titles, such as "Protocol," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," and "Best Friends," also priced at $7.99. But the "Rocky" tapes are receiving some extra promotion.

Ads are appearing in many store circulars, and in-store announcements about the price and availability are made regularly.

The single "Rocky" video promotion is not tied to the release of the 20th Anniversary "Rocky" gift set, which contains all five videos and is priced at $29.99, according to Mike Read, director of public relations for Albertson's. However, the videos are being promoted together in many stores. The gift set is also being heavily promoted.

Albertson's is believed to be the only chain offering the videos -- which were released with a suggested retail of $9.99 -- at $7.99, although it could neither confirm or deny that. "I would assume a similar deal has been offered to others who carry the videos," said Read, "but I have no way of knowing that." Each Albertson's store received 12 gift sets.

"The $7.99 movies, including the single 'Rocky' tapes, aren't selling as well as we thought they would, but we've sold a few gift sets,"said Benjamin Rodriguez, who runs the video department in a Katy, Texas, Albertson's. "Rocky is not one of our hot sellers," said an Albertson's video department manager in a Dallas store. "It's too old. We do best with the new releases."

While the "Rocky" gift box, single tapes, and other $7.99 videos have only been in the stores for about a week, most stores report that they are not moving very quickly.

However, some stores said they seem to be good sellers.

"I can see the pile of $7.99 tapes starting to dwindle," said Holly George, manager of an Albertson's in Portland, Ore. "It looks like we've sold quite a few of them."