KROGER CLINGS TO CHILDREN'S VIDEO

CINCINNATI -- Kroger Co. here is continuing to eliminate the video rental departments from its supermarkets -- even as the emergence of DVD is revitalizing the category -- but the chain seems unwilling to abandon children's video completely as a sell-through opportunity. In some markets, Kroger carries a limited selection of some of the most popular children's titles.

DVDs, what titles were carried and where they could be found in the stores.

Almost all the stores offered at least a few of the most popular new releases for kids, including "Recess: School's Out," "Pokemon 3," "Trumpet of the Swan" and "The Book of Pooh." A few stores carried some of those titles in both VHS and DVD formats, although several stores mentioned that they only had a few DVDs available.

Some stores said they carried several additional children's video titles, including some Barney and Rugrats tapes and some other Disney titles.

Only three of the stores phoned still operated rental departments, and those that did had more extensive selections of children's videos for sale. One store closed its rental department Aug. 25, and the clerk in that department said all the videos that remained after the closing of the rental operations would go on sale.

Most of the stores placed the videos on display shippers or racks near the front of the store, some near the photo department and others in the cosmetics department. One store had them on display near the self-checkout aisles, and another said they were on a shelf near the salad dressings.

Most listed prices in the range of $14.95 to $19.95.

Only eight of the stores polled said they did not have any videos at all for sale in their stores.