Kmart denies Blu-Ray drop

Kmart has issued a statement denying earlier speculation that the retail chain is dropping Blu-Ray players from its shelves and exclusively selling HD DVD players. In its statement, Kmart said it intends to support both the HD DVD and Blu-ray platforms, and has no plans to support either platform exclusively. "There have been numerous statements in the media today, attributed to Toshiba, indicating exclusive support for the HD DVD format in Kmart stores," said Kmart officials. "These statements are false."

Previous reports claimed that a Blu-Ray absence at Kmart was set to last throughout the holiday season, which would have have represented a significant blow to Sony's Blu-Ray -- a format that otherwise continues to dominate retail sales. The HD DVD Promotions Group claimed that unlike Target's Blu-Ray exclusivity, which turned out to be based on a financial deal, Kmart's purported decision was based on demographics, given that the price of Blu-Ray players is on average higher than that for HD DVD, and tailored mainly for wealthy home theater enthusiasts.

By Electronista Staff