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Sravanthi Challapalli

Chennai, July 7 The Delhi-based Movie Mart, an online DVD rentals and sales company, is investing Rs 50 crore in enhancing its presence countrywide, and in branding and marketing. It has tied up with logistics company TNT to make its services available in the 300 cities and towns that TNT operates in.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Suresh Mansharamani, Chairman of Movie Mart, said the move would make his company truly national, unlike other companies which were claiming so but in truth only offered their services in a few metros. Movie Mart is close to finalising a deal with a private equity fund for its expansion plans. So far, the company has been self-funded. The company aims to enrol one million subscribers in five years’ time. It is eyeing a 30 per cent of the DVD rentals market in that time.

Mr Mansharamani, referring to a PricewaterhouseCoopers and FICCI research on home entertainment, said the DVD rentals market was expected to touch Rs 2,100 crore by 2010. DVD sales are slated to touch Rs 2,000 crore by the same year. The market, growing at a rapid pace, is estimated at Rs 800 crore currently. It stood at Rs 200 crore in 2006.

Currently, Movie Mart has 10,000 subscribers in the Delhi and NCR region and has an annual turnover of Rs 5 crore. The average revenue per customer per month is Rs 400, Mr Mansharamani said, adding that the cost of renting a DVD might come down in the future as subscriptions go up. It is eyeing a turnover of Rs 400 crore in five years.

Movie Mart, which claims to be India’s first online DVD rentals company, has about 15,000 titles of movies and television series in its collection in English and Hindi and is expanding its regional language content. It wants to set up its own stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. It is also looking at franchises in tier-II cities. Its plans for the future include forays into movie downloads from Web sites, DTH services, television and movie production, Mr Mansharamani said.

More Stories on : Channels and Franchises | Consumer Electronics | Cinema

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