Hastings and Rentrak Enter Into Long-Term Agreement
PR Newswire - December 07, 1998 10:32
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Rentrak Corporation (Nasdaq: RENT) today announced that it has entered into a new long-term agreement with Hastings Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAST).
The terms of the new agreement call for Hastings to obtain substantially more product through Rentrak's PPT system than it has
in the past, while providing Hastings the right to obtain cassettes on a revenue sharing basis from any source. In return for its increased buying commitment, Hastings will receive improved terms on product acquired from certain studios which have arrangements with Rentrak. Finally, Hastings will participate in Rentrak's new formovies.com web-site program.
Rentrak hailed the agreement as "win-win-win" and said it marks a strengthening of ties between it and Hastings. The agreement
assures Hastings access to the product of 85 program suppliers currently participating in Rentrak's PPT system. Rentrak CEO,
Ron Berger, said that, "Hastings is one of our most valued relationships and this agreement exemplifies how by working together
both companies can achieve results not attainable by either one alone." Berger said he is particularly excited about the web-site
services aspect of the agreement. Hastings customers visiting the hastingsentertainment.com program site can use
Rentrak's formovies.com program to determine which Hastings store has the rental titles they seek. Meanwhile, consumers visiting Rentrak's formovies.com site and located in the vicinity of a Hastings store will be directed to Hastings for their rental needs.
Hastings is a leading multimedia entertainment retailer that sells books, music, software, periodicals, and videocassettes. The
company also rents videocassettes and games. Founded in 1968, Hastings currently operates 129 superstores, averaging 21,200 square feet, across 18 states located in the Midwest and western United States.
Rentrak is the world's largest non-traditional distributor of videocassettes. Over 10,000 outlets throughout North America stock
cassettes leased through Rentrak's sophisticated information processing, electronic ordering, and automated auditing system.
The titles of 85 suppliers are offered to retailers who use the PPT system (Per-Per-Transaction) to obtain cassettes at an initial
cost which is a fraction of the usual distributor charge. Rental revenues are then shared with the company, which in turn remits a
portion to the program supplier.
Rentrak also provides web-site services for video retailers as well as consumers of videocassettes through its innovative web-site, formovies.com. A Rentrak subsidiary, BlowOut Video, Inc. operates retail sales stores in five states and a web-site, blowoutvideo.com. Another subsidiary, Commerce Alliance Group, Inc. provides order processing, inventory management, and fulfillment services to Internet retailers and wholesalers and to other businesses requiring just-in-time fulfillment. It can be accessed at commercealliancegroup.com. Rentrak's corporate site is at rentrak.com.
When used in this discussion, the words "anticipates," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Such statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
Factors that could affect the Company's financial results include customer demand for videocassettes subject to Company guarantees and Rentrak customers continuing to comply with the terms of their agreements. Additional factors that could affect the Company's financial results are described in the Company's March 31, 1998, annual report on Form 1OK and the Company's 1OQ for the quarter ended September 30, 1998, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Results of operations in any past period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for future periods.
SOURCE Rentrak Corporation
/CONTACT: Dick Gersh of Richard Gersh Associates, 212-757-1101/
/Web site: formovies.com
/Web site: hastingsentertainment.com
/Web site: blowoutvideo.com
/Web site: commercealliancegroup.com
/Web site: rentrak.com
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