“There’s so much product out there, if yours doesn’t stand out to the consumer eye, then you’re just another title on the shelf,” Rix said.
“The best way to do that is to work directly with the retailers. We can get immediate feedback, find out what’s going on in the marketplace and [supply] a more immediate replenishment of inventory,” he added. “There are certain incentives we can work with that don’t necessarily work when you’re dealing with a middleman.”
As a kick-off promotion to retailers, Pure Play will raffle a 2008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid. Every retailer placing an order in August will be entered to win, and a drawing will be held in September. Retailers can go to the Pure Play website to view contest details, as well as an online catalog of Pure Play’s product lines.
Pure Play is the first major industry distributor to implement a direct-to-retail sales strategy.
“As times and technology change so must Pure Play. I’ve witnessed the evolution from VHS-to-DVD, the advent of the Internet, HD-DVD-vs.-Blu-Ray, and the upswing of broadcasting and pay-per-view. My adoption of D2R is the correct choice to stay in line with our changing business needs,” Pure Play CEO Richard Arnold said in a statement.
“By going direct-to-retail we can now center our attention on the many retailers and chains going direct to the source,” he added, “offering one of the largest libraries of studios and genres to choose from. PPM offers a highly trained and experienced staff that is growing by the day. We are ready and excited to see this new method take off.”
According to Rix, the company will be adding to its sales staff, though Rix will be responsible for servicing accounts by visiting brick-and-mortar retailers actoss the country.
Pure Play will attempt to raise the visibility of its products by creating opportunities for special promotions, as well as updating merchandising displays — all with the retailers’ individual needs being catered to.
“It’s about increasing margins and increasing volume, and making sure our product is out there in a big a way as it can be,” Rix said. “It’s a changing marketplace and we felt this was the most appropriate way to respond to it. Nothing against the wholesalers — it’s just that, as a corporate entity, we can do a better job representing our products in the marketplace as one organization.”
Pure Play represents a large roster of studio lines including Private, Homegrown Video, Naughty America, Seymore Butts Home Movies, Cousin Stevie’s Pussy Party, Suze Randall, HellHouse Video, Asia Bootleg, Swank, Score, Silver Sinema, Hundies and, the latest addition to the list, Pink Lotus.
