HOUSTON, Feb. 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- 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(tm) 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.