- Coinstar
-
Coinstar, Inc. 
Type Public Traded as NASDAQ: CSTR Industry Calculating & Accounting Machines, Except Computer Genre Finance Founded 1991 Founder(s) Dan Gerrity [1] Headquarters Bellevue, WA, USA Area served North America & Europe Key people Paul Davis, CEO Services Coin Services, Entertainment Services, E-Payment Services, Self-Service DVD Kiosks Revenue 
US$911.9 million (2008)[2]Net income US$14.11 million (2008)[2]Total assets US$$1.067 billion (2008)[2]Total equity US$320.03 million (2008)[2]Employees 1,800 (2008)[3] Subsidiaries Redbox Website www.coinstar.com Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is an American company.
The firm's original focus was the conversion of loose change into paper currency, donations or gift cards via coin counter kiosks. Coinstar deducts a fee for conversion of coins to banknotes and charitable donations, but not for gift cards.
The company has more than 60,000 locations including a variety of services in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Coinstar currently aims to create a presence in the front end of stores (between the cash registers and the exit/entrance). The foremost example is their ownership of the Redbox DVD rental service. The company also produces machines that provide prepaid credit cards and cellular phone cards as well as e-payment kiosks.
Contents
Kiosk design and operation
The typical kiosk, painted green and the size of a large vending machine, is located at grocery stores, drug stores, larger merchants, banks or other retail locations. The coin counting service is available in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland and the UK.
To process coins, one simply pours unsorted loose change into the machine. In the United States, the machine accepts all denominations of coins from one-cent coins to one-dollar coins, its only restriction being 1943 steel cents and Eisenhower Dollars. When the machine finishes counting coins it issues a scrip, called a voucher, which the user can redeem at the place of business providing the coin counting service at face value for currency. The same mode of operation and redemption is provided on those Coinstar machines situated in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Coinstar logo used until March 2011; now used exclusively for Coinstar, Inc
The coin counting processing fee, deducted from the total once coins have been counted, is 9.8% (USD) in the USA, 11.9% in Canada, 9.9% in Ireland and 8.9% in the UK. Some machines may offer a lower rate; in this case the store hosting the machine has subsidised the rate. A newer service enables users to use their coins to buy a gift card from merchants without the usual fee ("no fee") — including such retailers as Starbucks, Amazon.com, Borders, Banana Republic, Gap, Regal Entertainment Group, Old Navy, iTunes, J.C. Penney, CVS Pharmacy and Overstock.com. Select grocery retailers, including SuperValu[4] and Stop & Shop are also participating in the "no fee" offers. If the user chooses the fee-free option the machine issues a plastic gift card or, in the case of online merchants like Amazon.com, a voucher with a redemption code.
US and UK users also have the option of donating their change to a selected charity. By 2006, Coinstar has raised more than $20 million for charities including the American Red Cross Disaster Relief fund, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Unicef's Trick or Treat program.[5]
Coinstar has processed more than 350 billion coins in its nearly two decades of operation, with an average transaction amount of about $38. The largest single transaction was $13,000 in pennies from a man in Alabama.[6]
Other services
Many Coinstar machines in the US also sell prepaid products such as Green-Dot preloaded MasterCard, prepaid wireless airtime from major carriers and long distance cards. In the UK gift cards are not available but phone cards are, including Virgin, Tesco Mobile, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Swiftcall and United.
Coinstar has become a multi-national provider of services for the front end of retail stores. Services provided include coin counting, bulk vending, prepaid products (gift cards), money transfer and automated DVD rentals (via Redbox). In September 2009, Coinstar sold its entertainment business, which included skill cranes and bulk vending, to National Entertainment Network.[7]
Coinstar will also be coming out with additional services, including the ability to deposit coins directly into a personal bank account. A specific time frame for availability of this service has not been announced.
History
The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.
In February 2009, Coinstar purchased all remaining shares of DVD rental kiosk company Redbox for $175 million from McDonald's Corporation, making Coinstar the sole owner.[8] Prior to this, Coinstar and McDonald's each owned 47% of Redbox shares with various other parties owning the remaining 6%.
Competition
Cummins-Allison Corporation (Mt. Prospect, IL), best known for its wide range of "backroom" currency and coin handling equipment, is also a leading supplier of self-service, coin counting kiosks. Cummins-Allison offers two different base model self-service coin counting kiosks -- The Money Machine and Jetcoin -- each with a variety of available features and options.[9]
In some sections of the U.S., regional banks have begun offering free coin-counting services in the amount of a gift card.[10] Refunds are often given in cash rather than in the form of a gift card. In some cases it is not even necessary for the customer to have an account at the bank; the free service is offered as a way to attract new business from individuals who are not current account holders. TD Bank's "Penny Arcade" coin counters were free and available to both customers and non-customers in many branches, but as of November 2010, the bank charges a 6% fee for non-customers to use the machine. Netflix and Blockbuster are also considered competitors with Coinstar's Redbox movie service.[11]Advertising
To generate publicity, Coinstar offered to cash in over 1.3 million pennies collected over four decades by Flomaton, Alabama resident Edmond Knowles after Knowles's bank refused to cash them in. The armored truck sent by Coinstar to Knowles's home sank into the mud in his yard after being loaded with the 4.5-ton collection, and needed to be rescued by a tow truck.[12]
References
- ^ "All Business interviews Coinstar founder". http://www.allbusiness.com/4353872-1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ a b c d http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDE3OHxDaGlsZElEPS0xfFR5cGU9Mw==&t=1
- ^ http://hoovers.com/company/Coinstar_Inc/hykfhi-1.html
- ^ "Supervalu, Coinstar Ink New Agreement". http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily/Pages/ND0506117.aspx. Retrieved 2011-5-11.
- ^ "Transforming coins into donations using technology". http://justwriteclick.com/2007/04/18/transforming-coins-into-donations-using-technology. Retrieved 2011-5-11.
- ^ Coin Operated. Modern Marvels. The History Channel.
- ^ "National Entertainment Network Acquires Coinstar's Entertainment Division". http://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=EB79A487112B48A296B38C81345C8C7F&nm=Vending+Features&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=EC478EEF95D746F3B287B5A5AA7B455B. Retrieved 2011-5-11.
- ^ "Finance | paidContent". Finance.paidcontent.org. http://finance.paidcontent.org/paidcontent?GUID=7974685&Page=MediaViewer&Ticker=CSTR. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Schlesinger, Henry (2009-12-30). "More Operators are Finding Locations for Self-Service Coin-Counting Equipment". http://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?nm=Vending+Features&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=E6FDB6B9C05B41CD8607ACA4C11CAB0C.
- ^ http://www.coinstar.com/us/WebDocs/A1-0-3-1
- ^ Blumenthal, Jeff (2010-11-18). "TD Bank drops free coin counting for noncustomers". http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/law/2010/11/td-bank-drops-free-coin-counting-for.html.
- ^ Donn, Jeff (2006-07-07). "Do Pennies Still Make Sense?". In The Loop (Washington Post). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR2006070601423_2.html. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
External links
- Coinstar website for the United States (in green)
- Coinstar website for the United Kingdom (in blue)
- StartupStudio In depth interview with Jens Molbak covering the story of how Coinstar began, recommendations for entrepreneurs, childhood experiences that helped Jens succeed, etc. Copy of StartupStudio podcast at AllBusiness
- National Entertainment Network
- Counting Canadian Coins
Categories:- Companies listed on NASDAQ
- Companies based in Bellevue, Washington
- Companies established in 1991
- Vending
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
