Redbox DVD rental service expands to CVS stores

DVD rental giant Redbox is expanding again, this time into CVS pharmacy stores.

The Oakbrook Terrace-based company plans to install its DVD rental kiosks at CVS locations nationwide, including Puerto Rico and Longs Drug locations in Hawaii.

The national rollout, which comes on the heels of a successful pilot program at select CVS locations, will start this quarter with approximately 700 installations by the end of 2010. The expansion is expected to be complete by the end of 2011. "Redbox's low nightly rate, rent and return anywhere policy and online reservations offer a terrific value and convenience to consumers while increasing traffic for our retail partners," Redbox President Mitch Lowe said in a release Thursday.

The agreement marks the first time that CVS will offer a DVD rental service to consumers and expands Redbox's presence within the drugstore channel.

Up until now, Walgreens pharmacy stores have housed a large number of the fully automated kiosks that hold about 630 discs, representing up to 200 titles. Many Walmart and Jewel locations in the area also feature the coke-machine sized rental boxes.

Early this year, the Redbox announced plans to expand its headquarters at Oakbrook Terrace Tower. This summer, the company is expected to lease nearly 137,000 square feet of the 31-story building. The company, a subsidiary of Coinstar, is growing furiously, opening a new kiosk every hour, Lowe has said.

In just five years, Redbox has grown from a dozen locations to more than 23,000 locations nationwide.