ALBERTSONS STEPS UP VIDEO EXPANSION

DAN ALAIMO

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons has stepped up expansion of its video rental programs, according to the retailer's biggest video racker.

Where in past years, Video II, Sandy, Utah, would install rental departments in 50 to 60 additional stores, this year the number will be close to 100, said Glenn Dickman, president of Video II, which has about 1,000 of Albertsons' video departments.

As a result of the merger with American Stores several years ago, "there are selected stores that did not have video that Albertsons has decided to put video into," he said.

There is no one prototype, but the normal inventory count is about 2,000 movies, Dickman said. "Each design is based upon the size and configuration of the store -- it's not a cookie-cutter program," he said.

Dickman estimated that he is installing about 50 of the stores between May and September. "We were able to do quite a few stores this summer." There was no particular reason for this, he said. "It's just the way things have worked out," he said.

"We think that video rental is a natural for a grocery store and the grocery customer. It takes space, money and commitment, like all programs, but we feel that if a company is committed, that they can be successful. Supermarkets have the convenience, the location and the customer count," Dickman said.

In old and new stores, Video II is increasing its emphasis on DVD, he said. "We feel that DVD has given new life to the rental market," he said. At this point, Video II is about 60% VHS to 40% DVD, "but 50-50 is not far away. We should be at 50-50 by the end of the year."