AMARILLO, Texas, October 1, 1998--Hastings
Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAST - news), a leading multimedia entertainment superstore
retailer, today announced that it plans to offer digital video discs (DVDs) for sale and
rental in about 90 percent of its 124 entertainment superstores before the Thanksgiving
holidays, with the remaining stores adding the new product line before the post-Christmas
rush. Additionally, the Hastings superstores will support the introduction with the rental
of DVD players. Hastings expects to initially stock
approximately 350 titles for sale and 250 titles for rent, with rental rates for DVD
movies following the same low pricing structure as the Company’s VHS tape rentals.
Five day rental rates for the DVD players will start at $14.99. The company expects 25 to
30 new DVD titles to be added each month to the selection, and all new DVD releases will
be offered for rental simultaneously with the VHS version, if the studios release both
versions on the same date. The Company has also added over 900 DVD titles for sale on its
entertainment e-commerce Internet Web site, www.hastingsentertainment.com.
"We have been testing this product in a limited number of our
stores for the past year with good success," said John H. Marmaduke, chairman and
chief executive officer. "However, because most of our stores are in small to
medium-sized markets, we have experienced a slower adoption rate of this new technology
than we would expect other retailers have experienced. We believe that sales and rentals
of DVD movies will grow substantially this Christmas season and into 1999 due to the
significantly reduced hardware prices for new DVD players and the much higher number of
movies now being released in the DVD format."
Founded in 1968, Hastings is a leading multimedia entertainment
retailer that combines the sale of books, music, software, periodicals, and videotapes
with the rental of videotapes and games in a superstore format. The Company currently
operates 124 superstores, averaging 21,200 square feet, primarily in small to medium-sized
markets in the Midwestern and Western United States.
The company also operates www.hastingsentertainment.com,
a leading multimedia entertainment e-commerce Internet Web site that offers a vast and
expanding selection of books, music, software, videotapes and games to the electronic
global marketplace. General financial information about Hastings is available to investors
and customers via the Internet at this site.
Certain of the statements set forth above are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements are
based upon management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of factors
and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described herein. The forward-looking statements set forth above are subject to the
factors and uncertainties set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Company’s Registration Statement on form S-1 (File No. 333-47969) as filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and declared effective on June 11, 1998.
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