Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

GEORGE SCHUTZ, Director . . . GUS BACOLINI, Associate Director RAY GALLO, Advertising Manager TRENDS in Theatre Refreshment Service How heads of several circuit concession departments envision the course of vending today. To determine current trends in theatre concessions operations, and to pinpoint factors considered important to success in this division of theatre operations under conditions obtaining today, this department has interviewed several heads of circuit concession departments — Lee Koken of RKO Industries, Walter McCurdy erf AB-Paramount Theatres, and Bernard Rosenzweig of Stanley-Warner Theatres. Interviewed separately, these men representing close to 1000 theatres throughout the country, showed remarkable unanimity on major questions. All had high praise for the new concession equipment being put on the market today. Almost invariably, wherever new equipment has been installed, sales have increased. The new equipment not only provides better means of preparing, displaying, serving and storing items, but its merchandising value is also increased. A new model whether it be a popcorn warmer or a drink dispenser, is generally more eyeappealing and more efficient than an older model, all agreed. Another important point in regard to new equipment is the greater variety of items offered. An 8 or 10-drink machine holds forth a greater probability of mak ing a sale than a 2 or 4-drink machine, simply because there is a greater likelihood that the patron will find the drink I hat will satisfy his particular taste. On the subject of drinks, the non-carbonated variety is reported making headway in theatres. This is not to be explained as a displacement of carbonated drink sales, but rather as additional sales achieved through tapping another segment of the available market. GREATER CHOICE OF ITEMS The trend then is to offer patrons an increasingly greater variety of items from which to choose. Not only are automatic vendors expanding in this regard, but manually-operated counters as well are stocking more and more items. Mr. Rosenzweig made the point that “increasing items nearly always pays off,” and that the ensuing increase in sales is usually greater than the loss in sales of a dropped item. Mr. Koken said that a stand not only should offer a wide variety of items, but also should display each item in full quantity. (He pointed out how unappealing a popcorn warmer is when there is only a meagre quantity of corn lying on the bottom.) Mr. McCurdy stated that in his theatres he is striving to display a maximum number of items right up front. Naturally enough, the more items displayed, the greater the space required, and this seems to be another trend in theatres today — the allocation of more and more space to concession operations than ever before. The RKO circuit, for example, recently remodeled the snack stands of the Proctor and Hamilton theatres in New York, and of the Colonial theatre in Dayton. The new versions are at least twice the size of the previous ones. And in Cleveland, the RKO Palace put in a concession stand four times the size of the one it replaced. The location of concession stands has also come in for a good deal of consideration. It was generally agreed that there is no overall “ideal” location, but that the architecture of each specific theatre had to be carefully evaluated. With this in mind, Mr. Rosenzweig said succinctly that the best location is that which is “viewed by the patron upon entering the theatre and is easily accessible from wherever he sits.” Mr. Koken warned against choosing locations that ignore the balcony trade, while Mr. McCurdy declared he likes his concession stands “head on.” In the AB-Paramount theatres, Mr. BETTER REFRESHMENT MERCHANDISING 37