FAMILY TITLES DRIVE SUMMER PLANS

JOEL ELSON

Retailers expect strong summer sell-through sales from a list of promising family titles coming to video.

Titles such as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Thumbelina" and "Beethoven's 2nd" will "spark good sell-through activity over the summer," noted Marilyn Aldrich, video buyer at Dahl's Food Markets, Des Moines, Iowa. A string of solid secondary titles, such as "My Neighbor Tortoro," "The Princess and the Goblin," and others coming in July and August, "are sure to help spike higher sell-through volume," said Tim Harrison, video supervisor at Food Giant Supermarkets, Sikeston, Mo. Retailers also expect further sales for video titles currently on the market, observed Cindy Seale, general manager of video operations for Jitney Jungle Stores of America, Jackson, Miss. Among these titles are "The Return of Jafar," "The Fox and the Hound" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," which were released earlier in the year. Additional sales will be generated from the animated Flintstones product that ties in with the huge success of the theatrical movie, she added. "It's a good time for family and children's sell-through video because the kids are home," said Seale. "People would rather own than rent titles kids watch over and over." Summer sell-through volume at Raley's, West Sacramento, Calif., "will be good, but not as strong as the fall when the major hits will be out," said Dan Black, nonfood buyer/merchandiser. A major problem with summer titles is the lack of lead time to plan sell-through promotions, he said.

"They are getting a little better, but it's not where it should be. Most people plan their advertising four to five months in advance, but the studios don't release the dates until at the last minute. The titles that came out in June and July were all fairly good titles, but all of my ad space was already booked," he said. Raley's is putting in one or two shippers per store of the summer sell-through titles and using the in-store satellite network to promote them, he said. "Our newsprint ads have already been finalized, and we aren't going back to revise them," said Black.

This summer, Food Giant will focus its promotional activities to drive "our sell-through business, using whatever tie-in premiums and merchandise giveaways we can put together," said Harrison. The Fourth of July can be just as strong for video sell-through as it is for rentals, Harrison noted. For example, he pointed out, "In the Name of the Father" and "Philadelphia" will be released to the rental market just before Independence Day.

"If they think these two titles will do well at the July Fourth weekend, it stands to reason that a sell-through item, strongly advertised and well-recognized by the customer, would move as well," he said. The summer sell-through titles represent a good cross-section of volume-building possibilities, said Glen Fischer, video buyer and merchandiser, D&W Food Centers, Grand Rapids, Mich. But, he said, "there's no way to predict just how strong the season will be." "Mrs. Doubtfire" will remain a hot title while "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Beethoven's 2nd" will do well, Fischer predicted.

Dahl's expects a solid summer sell-through period, said Aldrich. " 'Beethoven's 2nd' and 'Thumbelina' should do well," she said. "Children's and family videos are the best sellers."