KROGER STORES IN CINCINNATI HAVE DROPPED 'STRIPTEASE'

JOEL ELSON

CINCINNATI -- Some 50 Kroger stores in the Cincinnati/Dayton area pulled rental copies of Columbia TriStar Home Video's R-rated "Striptease" during Thanksgiving week.

The chain removed the movie, starring Demi Moore, a few days after copies went on display Nov. 19, because "we're a family-oriented store," said a Kroger store manager here, who asked to remain anonymous. Kroger officials had no comment.

The chain's decision to remove the video from rental shelves of stores in this fairly conservative region was prompted by worries about customer reactions. "We were concerned about the content of the video, and I imagine also customer complaints," added the manager. "We really weren't supposed to get that title, based on the content. Our video distributor, ETD Entertainment Merchandising, shipped it to us in error."

Pulling the tapes from the chain's stores "for whatever reason, was a Kroger business decision," said Joe Shelton, branch manager of ETD's office here.

The KMA head office instructed its southern Ohio and Kentucky stores to take down the tapes, and the distributor then removed them from stores. Scott Ross, Ohio director of the American Family Association, denied that pressure from his organization convinced the supermarket chain to pull "Striptease" from its rental sections.

"I applaud Kroger for doing the right thing, since you cannot be a family grocery store while at the same time offering pornography for sale," said Ross.

"Striptease" is actually a comedy about stripping.