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Hi, I'm Scott Whitmer, the President of Video Depot. I want to talk to you about the future of the movie rental business. Not just a kiosk, but a full service, automated video store. Before I tell you about our automated video store, I want to give you some background on us:
We are an independent video store chain with 8 locations in the Palm Springs, California area. We have been in the video rental business for 25 years, and in 2003 we were named "Retailer of the Year for a Mid-Sized Chain" by our Trade Association. Video Depot opened its first automated video store in Palm Desert, CA last year. At the same time we were fortunate enough to become part of the Videomatic team as the official distributor for California, Arizona and Nevada.
We researched video rental kiosks and automated video rental machine systems around the world before choosing Videomatic. Most notably, we visited some of the top companies in Italy that manufacture video rental machines. We met with the owners and toured their factories. In addition, we saw dozens of stores that were automated with machines. Videomatic was easily the most impressive. The hardware, with its pneumatic system was the smoothest machine we saw, and the software was head and shoulders above the competition. The software was our deciding factor. We figured that ease of use for our customers was very important. The graphics were superior and the software was not only easy to use, but fun as well.
An automated video store offers many benefits. We can reduce our retail space anywhere from 50 to 70 percent. Our typical store is approximately 3600 square feet. An automated store with the same library can fit into 800 to 1500 square feet. This saves a tremendous amount on rent. We can reduce our payroll costs by 40 to 50 percent. We used to staff our store about 150 hours per week and have cut back to about 90 hours. Automation will allow independent video store owners to 'get their life back.'
We now offer our customers an online presence like never before. Customers can browse our entire library online to reserve movies and pick them up at their convenience.
Customers no longer have to wait for the video store to "open." They can access the store 24 hours a day with their membership card. With multiple locations, customers can rent at one store at return their movie to another and vice versa.
I invite you to come and visit our location in Palm Desert and experience 'Tomorrow's Video Store' - Today!
Scott Whitmer
President of Video Depot Inc.
