There's gold in golden-oldie videos

Drug Store News, July 14, 1997 by Allene Symons

New hit videos may be hot, but older titles can be very cool. For about the price of a quality paperback book (or, in special cases, for the price of a hard cover), many consumers are collecting classic and nostalgia titles for their home video libraries.

"Mary Poppins" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Halloween horror classics or animated classics, such as "Sleeping Beauty," are just some of the nostalgic video titles available this season.

Other new offerings include classics of early film history, including an upcoming series of matinee films from the 1930s from Universal and Cabin Fever Entertainment's release of "For Pete's Sake" to celebrate the 75th anniversary of "The Little Rascals."

Classics on home video have qualities retailers like in sell-through video: Recognizable brand names as titles, legendary stars or animated character names and typically better margins than the new hit titles, which are widely discounted.

Doug Dohman, vice president of sales for Hallmark Home Video, explained that since most of Hallmark's classic products retail for $14.98, "the retailer can afford a good selling margin and can distinguish themselves from competitors by stocking certain classic films."

But one trick is to get inventory turn out of these older gems. Larger-format retailers have room to offer a selection of classic and nostalgia titles, but for drug chains, space is tight so there must be another reason to dedicate the shelf space.

Events and tie-ins can make the difference. Anniversaries generate media publicity and catch consumer attention. Paramount reportedly enjoyed sell-through sales 25 percent greater than projected for its 25th anniversary edition of "The Godfather." "I think you will see I more anniversary repromotions as some of the classic films of our generation hit their anniversaries," said Paramount's executive director of publicity, Dorrit Ragosine.

Disney is mounting several anniversary releases in the' second half of 1997, including the 40th anniversary of "Old Yeller" and the 30th anniversary of "The Jungle Book." Said Mike Aufricht, Disney Home Video vice president of retail marketing and merchandising, "Those are movies fondly remembered by moms, and moms like to share them with their kids."

Disney places its classic titles on moratorium, meaning they are off the market for seven or eight years or more. When they are re-released, and then for only a few months, this creates an event like a new release in terms of spiking interest and inventory turn.

Each limited edition has enhancements and new material. This season, "Sleeping Beauty" reawakens with a fully restored version of the film, a 15-minute bonus program on "The Making of Sleeping Beauty" and a commemorative booklet. Aufricht explained, "All vault classics are fully restored to original brilliance using Disney's proprietary restoration process."

Big statements from series

A line or series means a stronger presentation than for singles and can inspire collecting. New from Disney is the Comedy Favorites series. "For the retailer it makes a bigger statement in the store and is easier for the consumer to find," explained Aufricht.

For the retailer, lines such as MOM's Vintage Classics can help narrow down an overwhelming selection of older catalog titles. "With our Vintage Classics we have tried to pull out the best classics in the MGM library. We have done the weeding out so these are the best stars, the most Academy Awards, with new packaging on all of them to have more impact at store level," an MGM spokesperson said.

Classics get a new life with the annual return of holidays, especially Christmas and Halloween. This year Universal is adding six new titles starring Lon Chaney Jr. to its Universal Horror Classics, just as the U.S. Postal Service is issuing a series of classic horror film star stamps on Sept. 30.

In another classics line, three Buck Jones films will be released on video for the first time in Universal's Matinee Collection. Each volume has a cartoon from the 1930s, "to make it like the matinee experience of the 1930s," said Wendy Winks, Universal's director of marketing sell-through catalog product.

In another approach to pump up the volume, Paramount is paired in a fourth-quarter cross promotion with Max Factor for three titles boasting distinct looks and styles for different eras: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (themed with Max Factor red shades), "The Great Gatsby" (with gold shades) and "Flashdance" (with slate shades). Videos and color cosmetics will be promoted in POP materials and in ads in women's magazines from September through December, according to Paramount's Ragosine.

Cross-title promotions, such as Disney Video Rewards program, also help beef up sales of catalog titles when a classic is re-released. For Disney's big hit classics such as "Jungle Book" and "Sleeping Beauty," Aufricht noted that roughly 70 percent of these titles will be planned purchases, but catalog product is about 70 percent impulse, so it's a good idea to have collectible catalog titles on display when shoppers are attracted by an ad for a big classic re-release.