Independent Movie Rental Kiosks vie Against Redbox in Connecticut

NORTH VANCOUVER, BC, March 27, 2013 (Press-News.org) Independent movie rental kiosks have taken root on the Connecticut shore. The Walmarts and Walgreens of the world have Redbox, but smaller stores like Jojo's Food Mart in Westbrook, Conn. don't meet the criteria for Redbox's automated movie rental kiosks. That's where Connecticut-based independent operators Jeff and Sarah Taylor come in.

The owners of Watchitnowdvd.com launched their movie rental kiosk at Jojo's convenience store and gas station this month, and right now it's the only game in this seaside town. The nearest Redbox is over five miles down the coast in Clinton, Conn.

"Many of these small stores have tried to get a Redbox kiosk and couldn't," says Jeff Taylor. "The stores who've approached us have been wanting to get a kiosk in their location for a long time."

The Taylors also have one in Guilford at the XPress Fuel Convenience Store, and have just launched another kiosk at C-Town Supermarket at 325 Ferry Street in New Haven. Inland, there's another in Wolcott at Pat's IGA.

"Ours is actually better than a Redbox because we are able to offer new release movies from Warner Bros, Fox and Universal up to 28 days earlier while Redbox is bound by the studio-distribution contracts," says Taylor. "And if our customers have a question or concern they will be able to speak directly with us instead of dealing with a call center."

Because the kiosks are automated, the Taylors are able to run their kiosks part-time in conjunction with their full-time business as owners of Snap Fitness, a local fitness club in Stratford, Conn.

"We were looking for simplicity in a business," says Taylor. "We didn't want to have to worry about personnel, hiring and firing people. With this, as long as the machine is running, we have everything we need."

The Taylors, who live in Fairfield, Conn., also have six children ages eight to 16. "That's why we need something that doesn't take up that much time, but still provides extra income," he says.

Their business is part of the largest independent network of movie rental kiosks in North America. They acquire their kiosks as a business opportunity from a company called DVDNow Kiosks.

Kiosks are meeting the demand for disc rentals after the closure of the majority of video stores in the United States. Despite the onset of video streaming, a recent report from market research firm the NPD Group found that video discs remain the largest source of Hollywood's home-video revenue.

The report said that video discs accounted for 61 percent of home-video spending on movies (excluding Netflix and other movie-streaming subscriptions) in 2012.

All across the United States, operators like the Taylors are stepping in to supply independent supermarkets and convenience stores with DVD rental kiosks, and provide a locally owned alternative to Redbox.

"Many U.S. consumers are still more comfortable renting and owning movies on discs," says Scott McInnes, the CEO and Founder of DVDNow Kiosks. "When the video stores closed, many people were left in the lurch, but now thanks to our operators and Redbox, people can still rent movies the way they want to."

DVDNow launched in June of 2006 and quickly became the leading provider of independently operated DVD rental kiosks. Today, with operations in over 16 countries, DVDNow has the largest independently operated DVD rental kiosk network in the world.

Website: http://www.dvdnowkiosks.com