HOUSTON, Oct. 24, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- TNR Entertainment Corp., the nation's largest owner/operator of automated DVD rental kiosks in major grocery stores under the name "The New Release", has named veteran home entertainment executive Richard B. Cohen as chief executive officer, it was announced today by Bert Smith, Chairman of the Board. The privately held Houston-based company dominates the alternative grocery store channel for DVD distribution, currently serving over 100,000 customers monthly in five states. The Company is backed by an institutional investor group led by Celerity Partners.
"We are thrilled to have the benefit of Richard Cohen's expertise and 25 years' experience in home entertainment, particularly now when we are accelerating our growth with existing and new customers, and expanding into additional geographic markets," Smith stated.
Steve Adamson, Managing Director of Celerity Partners, said, "Expanding The New Release's management team is key to sustaining the momentum this company has achieved, and we believe Richard is an exceptional candidate to continue building this growth."
"The New Release business is a truly unique opportunity for me with all the right market conditions," Cohen said. "Distribution of entertainment product is undergoing major shifts, and The New Release offers an innovative and effective means to reach a broad consumer base with a very viable and competitive solution."
The Company's kiosk-based rental model allows consumers to access DVDs in a more convenient way -- at the grocery store -- than separate brick-and-mortar retail locations or mail-based subscription formats. In addition, with DVD rentals ranging from fifty cents to $1.50 a day and no late fees or penalties attached, the model offers great value to consumers. The New Release's kiosks contain approximately 200 top movie titles and store a total of 400 to 1,000+ DVDs in inventory, in a store footprint approximately as small as seven square feet.
The Company currently has agreements with many of the nation's leading grocers, including Kroger, Safeway, HEB, and Publix, representing a total addressable market in excess of 20,000 grocery locations.
Cohen's extensive industry experience includes serving as President of the Home Entertainment and Consumer Products Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM) where, for seven years, he was responsible for all aspects of MGM's manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution of its film, television and interactive products on DVD, VHS and emerging formats. He also initiated the company's first Internet ventures.
Prior to MGM, Cohen worked for Walt Disney Studios in various positions, including Executive Vice President and General Manager Worldwide of Buena Vista Home Video, overseeing the $1.5 billion-per-year division's sales and distribution of all Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures worldwide.
Most recently Cohen has been engaged in various home entertainment projects, including the development of family-oriented films for the direct-to-DVD market, entertainment media consulting and the acquisition/sale of content to cable systems, including for PPV and VOD markets. He has an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles and a BA degree from Amherst College.
TNR/The New Release was founded in 2002 by John M. Osborne, who continues to serve as President. Since its formation, the Company has initiated several firsts in the kiosk-based rental industry, including development of the first all wireless kiosk, the first DVD-only kiosk, innovative pricing structure, and specialized software.
Celerity Partners, based in Los Angeles, is a private equity fund whose objective is to build businesses, in partnership with management, to preeminence in their respective markets. Since its inception in September 1995, Celerity has invested in over 50 companies with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $2 billion. Celerity currently manages approximately $200 million of equity capital and has offices in Los Angeles and Menlo Park, California. For further information, see www.celeritypartners.com