HARPS FOCUSES ON OPENING UP WIDESCREEN VIDEO SECTIONS

DAN ALAIMO

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- Consumer awareness is driving demand for widescreen versions of movies at Harps Food Stores here, said Randy Weddington, video specialist.

The company is developing sections of the letter-boxed tapes, which show the entire theatrical movie frame instead of the usual "pan-and-scan" versions that fill television screens but cut out portions of the picture. With more large-screen television sets in American homes and with the publicity being given new technologies like digital videodisc, consumers are very interested in seeing films on video in a form intended by the movie makers, it was noted.

"Many people are just now becoming aware of this type of product who had never contemplated it before," said Weddington.

Harps is featuring the widescreen versions primarily for rental, but is also picking up selected titles for sell-through, said Weddington. For example, the retailer brought in the widescreen version of "Jurassic Park" in May in advance of the recent theatrical release of the sequel, "The Lost World." "We sold out of the initial shipment," Weddington said. Notably, there is little customer confusion over having two tape versions in the stores, he noted. "I think we are finally getting them educated about it," he said.

The number of widescreen movies in Harps rental inventories is gradually increasing and is now at about 20 titles, he said. "We are just now getting to the point where we have enough titles to justify a rental section. Looking at the sell-through widescreen titles, I think that is a section that is going to grow quickly and dramatically," said Weddington.

Harps is also testing the sales of used music compact discs in its Mountain Home, Ark., store, he added. They are merchandised in the 2,000-square-foot video department. The store started with about 1,500 pieces selling at $6.99 to $8.99. Weddington bought the inventory from a specialty retailer in Oklahoma City that was going out of business. No other retailer in the Mountain Home area sells used CDs, he noted.

"Used music CDs seem like a natural extension from video," he said. "We will be buying and selling and trading, so I'm sure the inventory will build from the customers as we go along." The Mountain Home store is where Weddington tests new merchandising concepts, such as sales of new music CDs, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 hardware and software rentals, and sales of licensed products related to the video business. "I'm just trying everything under the sun there right now and we'll see how it works. It's our biggest store and my biggest success story," he said.