MARBLES SETS STAGE IN VONS UNIT FOR FIRST SCENE WITH DVD

DAN ALAIMO

LOS ANGELES -- Marbles Entertainment here is set to put DVD hardware and software into its first store this month, a Vons store in Grover Beach, Calif.

Marbles plans to roll out DVD shortly afterward, said Matthew Feinstein, vice president. Marbles currently operates 15 leased-space video rental and sales departments. Eleven are in supermarkets of Lucky Stores, San Leandro, Calif., and four in stores of Vons, Arcadia, Calif.

Feinstein expected the DVD line, a starter program offered by Warner Home Video, Burbank, Calif., to be installed by Oct. 1. "We think it is going to do so well that we'll roll it out to our other stores right away. We just want to make sure that it works well. But I don't see that taking very long," he said.

Marbles will rent DVD players, while renting and selling DVD software. Initially, there will be three players and 90 software units for rent. Rental rates for the software will be $2.89 for a three-day, two-night period. The players will rent for $14.95 for the same period. A player plus one DVD software title will be $16.95, while a player plus two titles will be $18.95.

The company will expand beyond the Warner products immediately. "There's a phenomenal selection of titles and we will start buying all new releases on DVD and begin buying catalog titles from other studios," Feinstein said.

The Grover Beach store, located mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, was chosen to go first because demand was greatest there, said Feinstein. "We will roll it out next to other stores where there is the most interest."