NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES CALLED BOON TO RETAILERS

DAN ALAIMO

LAS VEGAS -- New digital technologies are coming soon, but they represent as much of an opportunity to retailers as to in-home delivery systems, said Michael P. Schulhof, president and chief executive officer of Sony Corp. of America, New York. "We live in a time of rapid change driven by digital technology. Although this change might be perceived as a threat to retail, it is a tremendous opportunity," Schulhof said in his keynote speech at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show here Jan. 6 to 9. "This is an opportunity for retail to redefine itself, an opportunity to become a dependable resource for consumers and their ever-changing needs, an opportunity to use the merchandise and entertainment resources available from companies like Sony that have forged alliances with the entertainment world," he said. "But it's not enough to be merely associated with these new technologies. We must supply the enticing environment and the creative marketing the technology demands," said Schulhof. This year's Winter CES drew more than 90,000 people to visit 2,000 exhibitors occupying a space equal to about 28 football fields. Six temporary pavilions were set up in parking lots outside the Las Vegas Convention Center to help accommodate all the exhibitors, and space in several hotels was also used. Many executives from major supermarket chains were in attendance, meeting with video game companies, computer software firms, the growing number of interactive divisions of top movie studios and a handful of prerecorded video distributors. Among the retailers seen walking the show floor were executives from Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y.; Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif.; Ralphs Grocery Co., Compton, Calif.; Pathmark Stores, Woodbridge, N.J., and representatives of the Wakefern co-op, Elizabeth, N.J. The coming revolution in digital media will mean increased competition from electronic delivery systems, but also new packaged media products to offer at retail, said Schulhof. One development will be five-inch discs that can hold movies and the vast amount of data storage needed for other multimedia uses. "A mere 10 years after the launch of the compact disc, our industry now stands at the threshold of its next great technological breakthrough. This new format -- Digital Video Disc -- will permanently alter the home video market," said Schulhof. Digital Video Disc, developed jointly by Sony and Philips, is one of two technologies competing to be the standard for the next generation of five-inch discs. The other was developed by Time Warner and Toshiba.