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Live from CES: Choose a format, DVD makers!
Blu-ray, HD war has retail casualties
By Larry Thomas
LAS VEGAS — One sure way to raise the ire of Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson is to ask him about the format war among the makers of next-generation DVD players.
During a panel discussion here Tuesday, Anderson made it clear he’s sick of the sniping between purveyors of the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats — one of which will eventually replace the standard DVD format in use today.
“It’s time to get that solved,” he said sternly. “It’s one of the most frustrating things my employees have to deal with.”
He said Best Buy employees don’t like to recommend a Blu-ray or an HD-DVD player because many of the latest movies are available in only one of the new formats. As a result, many consumers have said they’re simply not going to buy any DVD player until industry can agree on a single format, he told the audience.
Last weekend, Warner Bros. shocked the industry by announcing it would no longer release new movies on in HD-DVD, opting to use Blu-ray as its exclusive next-generation format.
“That probably moved the needle a little bit, but by no means are we going to declare a winner,” added panel member Steve Eastman, general merchandise manager for consumer electronics at Target.
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The 20 World Market Center home furnishings showrooms open during CES haven’t been overwhelmed with buyers, but exhibitors who worked hard to secure appointments prior to the show seem pleased with the results.
“The quality of the buyers we are seeing is excellent,” said Karl Eulberg, vice president of sales and marketing at Kathy Ireland Home by Martin. “We’ve had a lot of interest in our line from (the consumer electronics) channel.”
Spurred largely by ready-to-assemble major Bush Inds., which opened its showroom during last year’s CES with little support, the WMC marketed the event heavily this time and operated a shuttle for buyers.
“I was very pleased with the way the World Market Center handled this,” added Linda Owen, national sales manager at Riverside. “It makes so much sense for these showrooms to be open.”
Most of the showrooms that are open sell entertainment furniture, but a few decorative accessories and lighting spaces also are welcoming CES buyers.
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If you want to check out some on-scene reporting from real CES experts, take a look at the stories and video blogs from our sister publication TWICE (short for This Week in Consumer Electronics.) The site is at www.twice.com. Click the “CES Daily” box for all the scoops.
Undetermined commented:
Jason, I don't have an exact count, but only one of the WMC exhibitors I spoke with had more than 10 appointments with buyers this week. The exhibitors who worked the phones prior to the show to secure appointments had the most success. Those who were counting on walk-in traffic were very disappointed.
Undetermined commented:
If CES pulls out of Vegas, what does that mean to the Las Vegas furniture show, a smaller more expensive event? So, Mr. Thomas, how many retailers actually trekked over to the World Market Center? Probably not significant. Your words "seemed pleased" is not exactly a ringing endorsement of WMC activities.
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