DVD is just a fad, used to hype stock. It won't amount to much...
Best Buy Announces Record Sales for DVD ; Hardware and Software Sales Exceed All Expectations
01/06/99 PR Newswire
(Copyright (c) 1999, PR Newswire)
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY), the nation's leading retailer of DVD products, today announced a record holiday season for DVD sales. DVD players, launched nationally by Best Buy in Spring 1997, have sold far beyond holiday expectations, while DVD movie sales exceeded $1 million in a single day this season.
Best Buy sold $1.2 million in DVD software the day after Christmas, marking the first time Best Buy had sales of DVD movies higher than VHS movies. Year-to-date, sales of DVD movies at Best Buy exceeded $60 million with sell through of nearly 3 million DVD movies. E-commerce DVD sales on Best Buy's Web site ( bestbuy.com ), which began selling more than 1,500 DVD titles online late November, contributed to these record sales numbers.
"Through the month, our ratio of software to hardware sales continued to escalate, leading us to believe that many DVD and Divx hardware purchasers were buying DVD software at Best Buy," Fenn added. "Strong holiday sales of DVD indicate that it is the preferred format for future movie viewing. With a mere one percent of US market penetration, DVD has tremendous growth potential."
Record sales of the new technology can be attributed to increased assortment of movie titles, the affordability of $299 hardware and effective promotions. Sales of DVD players from Panasonic, Pioneer, RCA, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba averaged 10,000 units per month until November and December, when player sales for the two months exceeded 80,000 units.
" DVD was by far the runaway consumer electronics gift this year. DVD player sales far exceeded our highest expectations," said Wade Fenn, Best Buy's Executive Vice President -- Marketing. "By mid-December we sold out of many models and were unable to fully meet demand. We predict we could have sold another 20,000 units, making December a 70,000 unit month."
Best Buy partnered with hardware manufacturers, as well as Warner Home Video and Hollywood Video to offer five free movies and 13 free rentals with the purchase of any DVD player from November through January.
Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co., Inc. is the nation's largest volume specialty retailer of name-brand consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. The Company is ranked 199 on the Fortune 500 with annual revenues of $8.4 billion. Best Buy operates stores in 36 states. For CDs and DVD movies, visit the Company's online store at bestbuy.com
/CONTACT: Laurie Bauer of Best Buy, 612-947-2450/ 08:31 EST
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