News

Fujitsu self-serve terminals to supply movie tickets and more

August 25, 2003

FRISCO, Texas -- By next year, movie-goers at Regal Entertainment Group cinemas nationwide will be able to obtain movie tickets, cash and other services from terminals based on Fujitsu Transaction Services self-service technologies.

Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal intends to deploy 300 terminals through 2004, according to a news release. Regal operates 6,119 screens in 562 locations nationwide. Fujitsu has begun deploying the machines at Regal movie theatres throughout the country. The first locations are in Knoxville, Tenn.; Atlanta; New Rochelle, N.Y.; Houston; San Diego; and Portland, Ore.

"While the movie theater industry has been using ticketing kiosks for years, Fujitsu's customer activated terminal, called Regal Express, offers a significantly wider array of customer services uniquely centered on the Regal Cinemas customers," said J. E. Henry, Regal senior vice president and chief information officer.

"Our patrons can use a Regal Express terminal for a variety of services, including purchasing tickets, printing online tickets, and withdrawing cash."

Said Austen Mulinder, president and chief executive officer of Fujitsu Transaction Solutions, "This is a new and exciting venue for us. Some companies specialize in the automatic ticket vending business, and others offer ATMs. But Fujitsu is the only manufacturer in the market offering a device with specialized software that enables a retailer to build its own unique services."

Fujitsu and Regal developed the customer-activated terminal to print Regal's movie tickets and provide other services on a real-time basis through an interface directly to Regal's back-office systems. A companion unit offers tickets only. All units accept payment using debit or credit card.

And more services will be added. For example, the Express machines will become the primary movie ticket pick-up point for Fandango's Print-at-Home service, with which customers purchase their movie tickets on the Fandango.com Web site.

During Print-at-Home transactions, customers print out unique, bar-coded confirmations that they bring with them to the theatre, where the bar-coded confirmations are scanned and the tickets dispensed.

Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. is a provider of retailing technologies and a wholly owned subsidiary of $38 billion Fujitsu Limited.