BLOWOUT REPORTS 6% SAME-STORE SALES GAIN

PORTLAND, Ore. -- In reporting fiscal 1996 financials for BlowOut Video here, Steve Berns, president and chief executive officer, said same-store sales increased 6% for the year.

ompany's total store count is up from 157 at the end of 1995, despite closing 27 underperforming stores. Seventy new locations were opened, said Berns.

"We've embarked on a plan of controlled growth," said Berns. "We believe that it will be a combination of growth with the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, and growth through selective regional grocery chains, including Ralphs," he said.

However, BlowOut, which was spun off as a separate public company by shared-transaction-fee distributor Rentrak Corp. here last year, is still operating in the red. For the year ended Dec. 31, 1996, BlowOut reported a net loss of $7.2 million or $3.60 per share, compared with a net loss in fiscal 1995 of $4.9 million or $3.41 per share. The 1996 losses reflect the startup costs of the new units and the losses of the closed stores, said the company.

According to the January 1997 issue of Video Software Magazine, Blowout ranks 10th among all video rental retailers.