TURNER SEES PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY

DAN ALAIMO

ATLANTA -- Supermarkets can take advantage of the growing abundance of children's video titles by dedicating permanent space to it, said Stuart Snyder, senior vice president and general manager of domestic home video at Turner Home Entertainment here.

"Because they have the traffic of parents and kids in their stores on a regular basis, supermarkets have a real opportunity in children's video beyond in-and-out promotions," Snyder told SN.

"Supermarkets should feel very secure that this business is strong and growing, and that they are looked upon as true partners with our industry in this category. They have a tremendous opportunity to continue to grow this category and be a part of the future," he said.

Aside from the highly price-competitive major sell-through titles, there's good profit to be made in children's products, he said. "Once you get past the hits, there is a tremendous opportunity from a margin standpoint. There is not as much price pressure and it is a good steady business all year long," said Snyder.

If the products are there on a regular basis, consumers will buy them, he said. "The large hits are title-driven, but from there it's a tremendous impulse business," he said.

"If a parent comes in and buys one Flintstone tape, the likelihood is that they are going to be purchasing another," he said. Turner is scheduled to formally announce the release of "The Flintstones" titles from the Hanna-Barbera library this week during the Toy Fair in New York.

"If that Flintstone display is gone too quickly, then that parent is going someplace else to buy the tape. Since many children's videos are bought on impulse, maybe both of us will lose a sale," said Snyder.

"I would like to see it treated more like an everyday category rather than single promotions," he said.

To take advantage of the impulse nature of video purchases and the heavy foot traffic in supermarkets, Snyder said he would like to see videos sold from more locations. "There is an opportunity here to set up mini-displays throughout the stores, including by the registers. Consumers spend so much time in supermarkets and there is a large browsing effect," he said.

With many chains just now establishing sell-through sections, "they have the opportunity to be innovative," said Snyder.

Supermarket executives could be more proactive about the point-of-purchase materials they need, he said. "We understand that the supermarket environment is different, so we work on specialized [point-of-purchase materials]," he said.

Marketing of children's video has grown much more sophisticated in recent years, linking video, toy and packaged goods products, Snyder noted.