FEB. 7 | DVD rental kiosk operator Redbox will add machines in about 2,700 U.S. Wal-Mart stores by the end of next year. The plan will boost the number of Redbox kiosks by about 40% and put its machines in almost all of the world’s largest retailer’s U.S. stores.
The agreement will give Redbox at least 9,400 kiosks by next year, more than four times the number of Redbox’s next-largest competitor, closely held TNR. Wal-Mart started adding Redbox machines in 2006 and now has kiosks in 800 stores.
“Wal-Mart is constantly adapting to meet changing customer needs. This year will bring changes to the look of many of our vestibules. Equipment placement will be based on customer demographics and our commitment to ensure we are not interrupting traffic flow into the store,” the mass merchant said in a statement, confirming that it will “shortly begin a rollout to all stores.”
“We just felt it was a perfect fit,” said Christopher Goodrich, a spokesman for Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Redbox. “We’re actually continuing to look at additional partners.”
Redbox, which tripled its kiosks to 6,300 in 2007, is expanding its presence as the largest movie-rental store chains are shrinking theirs. Blockbuster, the largest U.S. video-store chain, closed about 700 of its 8,500 stores worldwide for the year ended Sept. 30 as it invested in its Total Access online-rental service to compete against rental-by-mail leader Netflix. Movie Gallery, which filed for bankruptcy in October and had its reorganization plan approved by its creditors earlier this month, closed about a fifth of its 4,500 eponymous and Hollywood Video stores last year.
Redbox, which is 95% owned by McDonald’s and Coinstar, has added 400 kiosks since the beginning of the year, including the additions of HyVee stores in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota, and Buehler’s units in northeast Ohio.
Redbox’s next largest movie-kiosk competitor is closely held TNR, which had about 2,100 MovieCube and The New Release machines in the U.S. as of last June.
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