NATM Members To Boycott Divx Suppliers
By Mark Harrington
Regional powerhouse retailers in the NATM Buying Group will stop selling DVD players made by vendors who also plan to market rival Divx machines, according to two NATM retailers.
Jay Buchanan, director and general merchandise manager of Nebraska Furniture Mart's MegaMart operation, in Omaha, Neb., said last week the "confusion" that Divx introduces to the marketplace was the primary reason for the group's decision. "We feel Divx adds another level of confusion in the marketplace when the industry needs to be constant and uniform," he said. "We think Divx is not in our best interest."
Companies that have hopped on the Divx bandwagon and also market DVD players are Thomson/RCA, Panasonic, and Zenith. Buchanan said MegaMart has "around six" more Zenith DVD players in stock and plans to order no more.
Michael Perlman, president of BrandsMart USA, Miami, said the NATM policy is a clear message to vendors that the regional retailers will put their support behind vendors that support them.
Perlman said his problem with Divx goes beyond an unwillingness to support a rival retailer (Circuit City is a major Divx investor). "The whole scheme is no good," he said, speaking of Divx's plan to charge consumers $4.99 for a disc containing a movie they can watch within 48 hours of first playing the disc. Viewers would pay another $3 to play the disc for an additional 48 hours, or around $11 for unlimited viewing on their machines only. Divx players will cost around $100 more than DVD players, or around $699. Divx discs can't be played on DVD machines, but Divx machines can play DVD discs. The first Divx machines are due out in the spring, initially at Circuit City stores. But Richard Sharp, concurrently chief executive of Circuit City and Digital Video Express, has expressed confidence that other retailers will support it.
"I can't imagine one retailer other than Circuit City that will carry Divx," Perlman said. "It's an attempt to overcharge the consumer, and it's not going to work."
Retailers in the NATM Buying Group operate some of the nation's most powerful regional chains. In addition to BrandsMart and Nebraska Furniture Mart, NATM members include: H.H. Gregg of Indianapolis; R.C. Willey of Salt Lake City; Sun TV of Columbus, Ohio; American Appliance of Pennsauken, N.J.; ABC Warehouse of Pontiac, Mich.; Conn's Appliance of Beaumont, Texas; Cowboy Maloney's of Jackson, Miss.; and American TV of Madison, Wisc.
New Search | Search the Web
You can reach this article directly here:
techweb.com |
