OSCARS AWARD STORES WITH RENTALS

CAROL ANGRISANI

And the Oscar goes to....

These words mean traffic, high rental turns and, most of all, profit to supermarket video departments. This year's six-time winner "Forrest Gump" is certain to bring in big dollars when released direct-to-sell-through April 27. And retailers have high hopes for the other winners as well.

The Academy Awards, presented March 27, give supermarket video departments an opportunity to build excitement in their stores, according to retailers polled by SN. Several retailers interviewed started promoting the Academy Awards as soon as the nominees were announced Feb. 14. Along with putting up special signs, several decorated their video departments in a movie theater motif.

Goff Food Stores' five departments created marquees over their service centers. They also hung drapes over the doors to add an old-time movie theater atmosphere. Inside, the walls were adorned with large pictures of the Oscar, according to Shirley Decker, video buyer for the Haslett, Mich.-based chain.

Many video departments also ran Oscar-related contests and promotions. For the third consecutive year, 17 video departments within Harp's Food Stores, Springdale, Ark., sponsored their own version of the Academy Awards, said Carl Johnson, video specialist. Customers voted in 13 categories, and those who most closely matched the Academy Awards won the choice of any video that retails for $25 or less.

"It's done well every year," Johnson said. "It's a big traffic builder."

Clyde Evans Markets, Lima, Ohio, launched a radio contest in which callers could win a "Forest Gump" gift set that included Gump candy, a Gump T-shirt, and a certificate for the video, according to Karen Welch, video buyer.

Welch said media hype surrounding the nominees is enough to get people into the store.

"It really does it all on its own. Once the Oscar [nominations] are announced, news spreads like wildfire," she said.

Most consumers prefer to rent movies that feature Oscar-nominated actors, directors and songs, according to video executives.

"Once it's nominated, people are dying to see it on video," said Todd Wangerin, video buyer and supervisor at Econo Foods, T&C Markets, Iron Mountain, Mich. Promoting Oscar-nominated movies sometimes is difficult, though, because few titles were available on video in the weeks immediately preceding the ceremony. Out of this year's Best Picture nominees -- "Forrest Gump," "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Pulp Fiction," "Quiz Show" and "The Shawshank Redemption" -- only "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was on rental when the Oscar nominees were announced. "Shawshank" is scheduled to come out April 11, and "Quiz Show" April 18. "Pulp Fiction," originally scheduled to come to video this summer, won't be released until the fall. Johnson of Harp's said "Four Weddings" saw a large rental increase, while the "Lion King," which had two nominated songs, has been selling briskly since released in early March.

But a nominated movie doesn't have to be on video to build traffic, several retailers said. Retailers have cashed in by promoting soon-to-be-released movies that feature actors who have been nominated for an award. Goff put up signs that read: "We've got the titles, you can pick your own Oscars." Other signs plugged "Forest Gump" "Shawshank" and "Quiz Show," according to Decker.