CHAINS TESTING SHIPPING CENTER, DISNEY EVENT

JOEL ELSON

DENVER -- In tests, King Soopers here, Kroger Co., Cincinnati, and Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif., are promoting their in-store package-shipping centers through a co-promotion with Disney's Buena Vista Home Video that will culminate in the fourth quarter.

King Soopers is offering instant $3 savings on UPS shipping charges to customers who mail selected Disney children's videos at the in-store PackageNet shipping counter.

Kroger's Cincinnati and Dayton marketing-area stores, and Vons' Pavilion stores, on the other hand, tried to boost visibility of their UPS parcel shipping service by offering a $5 rebate on the purchase of Disney sell-through videos, "Winnie the Pooh-Spookable Pooh" and "Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

There are 177 stores involved at all three chains that began a Christmas push Oct. 29 that will run through Jan. 10, 1997.

The co-promotion with Disney launches PackageNet's new "Gift 'N Send" program, which aims to raise customer awareness of in-store shipping services and improve sales of Disney's Halloween and Masterpiece Collection videos. Customers mail the video rebate forms to PackageNet.

Kevin Twohy, senior vice president at PackageNet, supplier of UPS parcel shipping services, Fairfield, Iowa, said that during the fourth quarter retailers will tout their PackageNet shipping centers through register receipts and in-store signs.

He said the seasonally decorated shipping envelope and holiday greeting card, which PackageNet supplies as part of the promotion, and rebate offers represent $6 to $8 of added-value for consumers. PackageNet developed the greeting card on its own. It is attached to the mailing envelope for convenience, said Twohy.

"It's a good way to promote package mailing and stimulate traffic at our mailing centers. The point-of-purchase materials on shippers alert customers to the shipping centers," said a King Soopers executive who asked to remain unidentified.

King Soopers positioned floor shippers of the videos at video sections and at shipping centers with tear-off $3 savings coupons. Point-of-purchase signs urged shoppers to mail items from the store's package mailing center.

Although rebates were still being calculated, video sales during the first test phase of the promotion, built around Halloween, were described as "modest" by Twohy. He said the early Halloween push was to get the test phase of the promotion off the ground and he expected numbers to pick up during the gift-giving season.