Houston, TX –
February 5, 2007 Representing its initial footprint
in the West Coast, TNR Entertainment Corp., the nation’s
largest owner and operator of DVD rental kiosks in supermarkets
and grocery stores, continued its aggressive nationwide
expansion with the installation of 174 kiosks in three
major new markets for the company — California,
Nevada and Arizona.
The new kiosks, owned and operated under The New Release™
brand, are located in 75 selected Ralph’s supermarkets
and Food 4 Less stores in Southern California from Los
Angeles to San Diego initially, with another 90 sites
planned in other parts of the state later this year.
TNR kiosks are widely dispersed throughout Southern
California from Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley,
Riverside and Palm Springs to Orange County, Long Beach,
and San Diego.
In addition, TNR has installed 26 rental kiosks in
Arizona at Fry’s stores throughout the Phoenix
and Tucson areas, and 15 more at Food 4 Less locations
in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. All are owned and
operated by TNR. An additional 91 kiosks are planned
for Arizona this year.
“The Western United States is a huge market for
us, and this phase is only the beginning of a major
presence for TNR,” said Jeff Karbowiak, COO of
TNR. “Our relationship with Kroger has enabled
us to enter these markets quickly with a substantial
deployment of kiosks.”
He added that TNR’s additional West Coast expansion
plans in 2007 include installing more than 50 kiosks
for the first time in Washington and Oregon. TNR is
currently underway on a significant national expansion
program, tripling its current network of 1,300 kiosks
across 30 states by the end of 2007. For a complete
listing of the Company’s supermarket and grocery
store locations, see the geographic search section of
TNR’s website, www.thenewrelease.com.
The New Release automated DVD rental kiosks provide
supermarket customers with a more convenient one-stop
shopping experience. As the Company’s kiosks are
being introduced in new markets, more consumers are
able to enjoy renting the latest DVD titles for $1-a-day
and no late fees – a simple and affordable pricing
structure that TNR was the first to successfully market.
TNR’s kiosks house up to 1,000 units each, representing
more than 200 titles, including top new releases. The
fully-automated kiosks operate on a wireless communications
network and next-generation DVD kiosk operating system.
TNR has served nearly 1.3 million customers and rented
more than 9 million DVDs since its inception in 2002.
The privately-held company, based in Houston, dominates
the self-service DVD rental category in the grocery
channel. TNR currently has more than 1,300 locations
in such grocery chains as A&P, Dillon’s, Food
4 Less, Food Lion, Fry’s, H-E-B, Kroger, King
Soopers, Publix, Quality Food Centers, Ralph’s,
Roundy’s/Pick ‘N Save, and Spartan/Family
Fare.
Led by TNR Entertainment’s management team of
CEO Richard B. Cohen and COO Karbowiak, the Company’s
aggressive growth plans call for continuing national
expansion of its retail locations, well beyond the three-fold
increase of its kiosk network by this year end. TNR
completed a capital infusion of $45 million last year
to support this major effort.
Based in Houston, Texas, TNR Entertainment Corp. is
backed by an institutional investor group including
Celerity Partners, LP of Los Angeles; Chapton Partners,
LP, a Houston family partnership; Laminar Direct Capital,
LP, a member of the D.E. Shaw group of companies; and
MCG Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: MCGC), a leading specialized
financial services company and financial advisor.
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