Box trouble for Sinatra
Packages don't fit
The stylish package with slipcase is slightly too big to fit into keepers -- the reusable plastic packages retailers use to display albums and prevent shoplifting -- and at numerous stores must be sold like a boxed set, stored out of sight but produced upon a customer's request.
The inability of many retailers to readily display the disc could adversely affect sales, potentially shutting out impulse purchases.
Fit some versions
The disc will fit into some versions of the keepers, but it won't slide into the single longbox configuration used by most retail chains. The traditional longbox keeper is used in more than 4,000 stores nationwide.
"If my customers have to wait in line to just ask for (the album) during the Christmas rush, I'll lose at least 5% of my sales because they won't want to wait when they can go pick it up elsewhere," said a buyer for a well-known retail chain whose stores use the longer configuration and have to stock the disc rather than display it.
But Capitol execs say the box design is not a problem and sales of the disc are brisk.
"I have not heard from any (retailer) that this is a problem," said Lou Mann, senior VP of sales. "Retailers are very happy with the sales pace."
Marks return to Capitol
Sources say retailers were sent "scrambling" for keepers that would accommodate "Duets"-- Sinatra's first album in nine years -- which marks the singer's return to Capitol after a 35-year absence.
Even with the potential display problem, the highly anticipated disc entered in the No. 2 spot on Billboard's Top 200, selling just over 174,000 copies in five days of release.
