Frequent Renter Plan

Customers of Wherehouse Entertainment will soon be getting more mileage out of their video rentals.

Under a Frequent Renter Program beginning July 8, each rental at a Wherehouse store will earn the customer 10 bonus points that can be saved up and exchanged for General Electric and RCA entertainment gear or for travel awards.

“What we wish to do is ensure the loyalty of our customers, give them a strong reason to rent all their movies at the Wherehouse,” said Richard H. Chapin, the music and video retailer’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Wherehouse, which operates more than 200 stores and is based in Torrance, patterned its idea after airlines’ frequent flyer programs. The airlines initiated those as a way to build customer loyalty.

Similarly, fierce competition among chains and independent video rental houses prompted Wherehouse to try to come up with a way to boost market share, Chapin said. After years of explosive growth in video rentals--which in the most recent fiscal year accounted for $60 million of Wherehouse’s $225 million in revenue--the company had recently noticed a slowing in the boom.

Non-serious video buffs had better be patient. For 500 points--a mere 50 movies--customers will be eligible for a GE AM-FM miniature radio or a set of stereo headphones. But the big enchiladas--the 40-inch RCA TV monitor-receiver or a camcorder--go for 10,000 points. Let’s see, at 50 movies a week . . .