Local popularity of Redbox growing

It’s like a viral invasion in the movie rental market: Red self-service kiosks multiplying like rabbits and coming to a store near you.

Redbox, the DVD rental company that vends new releases for $1 a day, is becoming increasingly popular, and Kings County is part of the mix.

Save Mart in Hanford and Lemoore each have two machines. Wal-Mart has one. They get heavy use. Hang around one for a few minutes, and you’re sure to see somebody sliding a return DVD in the machine’s slot or scrolling through the available titles on a touch screen.

“It’s cheaper than renting (from a video store). And it’s a lot faster, too,” said Hanford resident Tim Davis Friday as he dumped off a title and headed into the Hanford Save Mart.

Davis never did like going to the video store, especially considering that new release rentals there are in the $4 range.

With Redbox, in you keep the movie an extra day, you get charged an additional $1.

“It’s just really easy to use if you want to keep it for an extra day or so,” said Hanford resident Pam Straight.

That kind of positive feedback has led to explosive growth for the company, which introduced its first machine in 2004. By the end of this year, it expects to have more than 20,000, according to spokesman Chris Goodrich.

Supermarket and other store owners love it, because it attracts customers and allows people to take care of their entertainment and food needs in one trip.

“It seems to be growing ... the more people realize how cheap and how easy it is,” said Jeff Wester, manager of the Hanford Save Mart. The store recently added a second machine because the lines for the first one were getting so long, he said.

But not everybody is thrilled.

The success of Redbox has cut heavily into sales at traditional video stores. Blockbuster, which charges $4.49 for new releases, said it lost $39.7 million in the quarter that ended July 5.

Some Hollywood studios aren’t happy either. Universal Pictures, Fox and now Warner Bros., in an attempt to preserve higher-priced disc purchases, have ordered their new-release wholesale distributors to delay shipments to Redbox.

Both Fox and Universal have been sued by Redbox over allegedly violating antitrust laws, and a federal judge is expected to rule soon on the Universal case.

Two other studios, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Sony Corp., have opted to ride the Redbox bandwagon. They announced that their films will be made available immediately.

The disputes over supplies so far haven’t affected movies available through the self-service vending machines. When studios balk, Redbox has bought new releases from retailers rather than from wholesalers, a tactic that may keep customers happy but has also cut into profit margins.

The company will keep providing major new releases every week, Goodrich said.

The customers keep coming.

As the popularity of the two machines in his store grows, Wester is thinking about adding a third.

“With the economy the way that it is, it’s a good way to get your entertainment and do your shopping at the same time. It’s a win-win,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.