Tag Archives: outr

Outerwall pins growth on mobile device, gift card trade-ins

Outerwall, the parent company of Redbox and Coinstar, sees future growth coming from consumers trading in used mobile devices and unused gift cards. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company detailed its latest ventures in automated retail at a financial analyst event on Thursday. Outerwall executives also pledged to fine-tune operations and boost profitability in their two main businesses: Redbox movie rental kiosks and Coinstar coin redemption kiosks. The Redbox and Coinstar businesses are maturing, and are only expected to see 4% to 7% annual revenue growth through 2015, Outerwall (OUTR) Chief Financial Officer Galen Smith said. But Outerwall has several new ventures that it hopes can fuel much faster growth, most notably ecoATM, which operates kiosks where people can trade in used smartphones and tablets for cash. Other new business ventures include Coinstar Exchange, kiosks where people can cash in unused retailer gift cards, and SampleIt, kiosks that sell $1 samples of …

Redbox parent Outerwall hits new high on buy-back plan

Outerwall parent of the Redbox DVD rental business, saw its shares jump 12% on Friday. It wasn’t because people suddenly started renting a lot more movies from its grocery store vending machines. Instead, the Bellevue, Wash.-based company announced a plan to greatly increase its stock buy-back program, which will raise per-share earnings. Outerwall said it intends to purchase $350 million of the company’s common stock through a modified Dutch auction tender offer. If the tender offer is fully subscribed and completed, Outerwall (OUTR) will have repurchased $555 million of its common stock since February 2013, the company said in a press release. “In addition to providing a return of capital to stockholders, this buyback reflects our confidence in the company,” Outerwall CEO Scott Di Valerio said in a statement. “We remain enthusiastic about the future of Outerwall, as we continue driving profitable growth through our core Redbox and Coinstar businesses…

Redbox parent Outerwall dumps coffee, food and photo kiosks

Redbox parent Outerwall is pulling the plug on three new ventures in a cost-cutting move. Not so long ago, the Bellevue, Wash.-based company wanted to be the king of automated retail, building on the success of its Coinstar coin-counting kiosks and Redbox DVD rental machines. But now Outerwall is under pressure from investors to improve its profitability. On Tuesday, Outerwall (OUTR)  announced that it plans to exit three new venture concepts: Rubi coffee kiosks, Crisp Market food kiosks and Star Studio photo booths. Outerwall also said it will cut 8.5% of its workforce, or 251 jobs. In addition, the company revealed that the president of its Redbox business had left after just over a year. Outerwall gave no reason for the departure of Redbox President Anne Saunders, but said it expects to fill the position in the coming months. “These actions are consistent with the plans we outlined earlier this year and ensure that Outerwall’s operations drive enhanced value creation for both our shareholders and retail partners,” Outerwall CEO J. Scott Di Valerio said in a statement. Outerwall expects to record a one-time, pretax charge of $26 million to $29 million in the fourth quarter related to its exit from the three ventures. It plans to shut down