High Def Inheritor

It’s no surprise to any retailer that the hey day of DVD is over. With $30 DVD players selling in aisle five of the grocery store, DVD has fast become a low-margin, commodity product. So it makes sense for retailers to hail the coming of high definition DVD—HD DVD or Blu-ray—as a boost to better margins. But the sale of these players may not be so easy. Incompatible formats, digital copy protection limitations and consumer unawareness all contribute to this category’s status as a hard sell. But with HD DVD now ready to ship, retailers will have to develop a strategy. Dealerscope interviewed some dealers already selling HD DVD players to see how they are positioning this new technology.

Dealerscope: Who do you think will be your early customers for HD DVD? How will you identify them?

Leon Temiz: I think the early customers to HD DVD will be the audiophiles and videophiles, along with the more affluent customers with existing systems looking to add something new. Also, the new affluent customer looking to build a system with the latest technology.