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SCMP Reporter

BLOCKBUSTER is to turn its focus from the rental of VHS tapes to video compact discs (VCDs) in the next two months.

 Blockbuster Hong Kong managing director John Skinner said there would be an aggressive push into VCD rental in the next few weeks, starting with stores in the Dragon Centre in Kowloon and in Ma On Shan, where one-third of the floor space would be given over to VCD rentals.

 The move is a significant shift in policy for Blockbuster, which made VHS rentals its priority when it opened its first Hong Kong store in February.

 'VCD has just exploded in this market. Customers jumped all over it,' Mr Skinner said.

 He said the company was still deciding at what price to rent VCDs, but might set the price as low as $7.50 a night. Since it opened, Blockbuster had been offering about 70 VCD titles at $15 to $20 a night and Mr Skinner said he was pleased with the results.

 However, he hoped to broaden the market for VCD rentals and might drop the price to do so.

 In many outlets, VCDs can be bought for $20 to $30.

 Mr Skinner said people would be prepared to rent VCDs to ensure they could get discs of good quality. 'They're tired of buying junk from the pirates,' he said.

 An aggressive push into digital video discs (DVDs) would follow, which Mr Skinner predicted would become much more popular in the next six months. He said the distributors had indicated they soon would be bringing out DVD formats alongside VHS and Laser Disc releases. By the new year, he expected the number of titles to have increased sixfold.

 Blockbuster bought failed video rental chain KPS last year and reopened the first store in February this year. It has since opened 18 more stores - some in smaller premises - and plans to open its 19th in Whampoa Gardens this month.

 Mr Skinner said he was pleased with the performance of the stores and had signed up 170,000 members.

 'We're extremely excited about the response,' he said.

 However, he said he was rethinking the KPS policy of locating stores in shopping centres, rather than on high streets, where many of the new VCD outlets were.

 'We're completely reviewing what our store format should look like,' he said.



VCDs put new focus on rental chain