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WATCHING a DVD is for many the ultimate way to relax – and Red Room DVD founder Dan Joyce is counting on this veg-out phenomenon to continue.
The problem with renting DVDs has been that, when the mood to veg-out strikes, the local video store may be closed.Red Room DVD has twisted the traditional DVD rental model into a semi-automated strategy which means DVDs are available on demand anytime.
Open 24 hours, the outlets allow members to search for movies on one of six in-store touch-screen stations where you can watch trailers and read plot outlines. Once you have selected the movie you want to watch, out pops the DVD and away you go.
There are currently two Sydney stores – in Waterloo and Bondi Junction – and a franchised store has just opened in Coffs Harbour. More franchises are set to open in Rozelle and Newtown in six weeks.
Mr Joyce started the business a year ago with three partners after stumbling across the idea in 2004.
He was sharing a house with a Frenchman who was upset at his inability to rent a DVD at 2am, whether after a night at the pub, a late night at work or a mild dose of insomnia.
In Paris, and through most of continental Europe, DVD ATMs are widely accessible, providing 24/7 DVD rental.
With friend and business partner Nic Di Venuto, the pair went on a six-month international fact-finding mission.
They investigated dynamics in the DVD rental industries around the world and the impact of DVD dispensers and other emerging technologies.
The semi-automated DVD rental model was adapted from an at-the-time fledging UK business concept. It took advantage of European technology and gave it a genuine retail appeal.
That fledging UK business now has more than 50 outlets and Red Room DVD has similar aims — Mr Joyce is focused on opening 60 stores nationally by 2009. Expansion is planned through franchising.
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