Best Buy Expands DVD Presence

According to an article published in the trade journal Video Business, Best Buy, the nationís largest retailer of DVDs, is reportedly increasing the space it devotes to the surging DVD format. Fourth quarter 1998 sales of DVDs rivaled VHS sales at the chainís 311 stores with 3.5 million units sold. Joe Pagano, Vice President of Merchandising for Movies and Music, reports that more DVDs than VHS videotapes were sold for the period. According to Pagano, the company sells 25 DVD titles on average for each DVD-Video player sold. Best Buy, as a result of its successes with DVD sales, has significantly reduced the number and type of VHS video releases it carries, reportedly from 10,000 to 2,000, while at the same time increasing DVD software inventory to 2,000 titles. The company plans to open 45 stores in 1999, each with a strong DVD presence.