Fred Meyer, Ticketmaster extend deal: supercenter retailer opens ticket centers in 45 more stores

DSN Retailing Today, Nov 11, 2002 by Doug Desjardins

PORTLAND, ORE. -- In an ongoing effort to provide consumers with new services in the competitive supercenter arena, Fred Meyer last month opened Ticketmaster retail centers in 45 stores in Washington and Idaho and now has them in more than half of its 132 stores.

Ticketmaster's Mark Lavaway said it began opening the ticket centers in late September and now has all 45 locations up and running in the home electronics sections of Fred Meyer stores. "Fred Meyer is a great fit for our company," said Lavaway, general manager of Ticketmaster in the Pacific Northwest. "And they're going to be a great partner to promote some of our more family-oriented shows and events."

Ticketmaster operates ticket centers in more than 3,300 retail outlets, but Fred Meyer is the only supercenter retailer on the list. Most centers are located in music retailers, such as Wherehouse Music, or in supermarkets, including many owned by Fred Meyer parent company Kroger Corp. In addition, the company also has ticket centers in more than a dozen Kmart stores in Florida and two in New Mexico.

Lavaway said the Fred Meyer partnership works well on several levels. It aligns the company with a retailer that is a household name in the Pacific Northwest and helps it cater to a different type of consumer. "I think we'll see a lot of business from moms and dads who are shopping at Fred Meyer and need to buy concert tickets for their kids or tickets to sporting events," said Lavaway.

A chain the size of Fred Meyer also is a good venue for promotions, said Layaway. He said they have already discussed in-store appearances by musicians and a possible multistore promotion that would involve free tickets to NBA games in Fred Meyer markets.

Fred Meyer began its partnership with Ticketmaster in 1999 when the company opened ticket centers in nine stores in Utah. In November 2001, Fred Meyer added 15 more centers in stores in Washington and Oregon. Fred Meyer declined to comment on the deal, but released a prepared statement about the convenience.

"Ticketmaster rewards our customers with yet another great one-stop-shopping reason to visit Fred Meyer," said Travis Smith, group vp of the Home Electronics Division. "When you want tickets to see your favorite stars or major league athletes at the largest facilities from Safeco Field in Seattle to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, you'll find them at Fred Meyer."