Under this agreement Nepstar, the largest drugstore chain in China, will install TransCard POS equipment in all its Shenzhen outlets to enable customers to make purchases with, and recharge, their TransCards. The TransCard service is said to add a unique convenience to a customer’s shopping experience at Nepstar stores in Shenzhen, and has the potential to generate more sales for these outlets.

TransCard is similar to the Oyster card used in London and the Octopus card used in Hong Kong, is a rechargeable contact-less stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments via online or offline systems in Shenzhen. At present, it is mainly used by cardholders to pay for public transportation in Shenzhen.

TransCard was launched in Shenzhen in April 2006, with the support of the Shenzhen municipal government. By the end of 2007, over two million cards had been sold, driving 1.8 million transactions per day. Currently, one in every five residents in Shenzhen holds a TransCard. Shenzhen Tong TransCard, the issuer and operator of the TransCard service, estimates that an additional four million cards will be sold in 2008.

Nepstar is the operator of one the largest drugstore chains in Shenzhen, with 311 outlets as of December 31, 2007. The Company planned to begin the installation of TransCard POS readers in its outlets in May and expects to equip 100 stores with the TransCard POS readers by the end of June. All of Nepstar’s Shenzhen stores are expected to provide TransCard service by the end of September 2008.

Jiannong Qian, CEO of China Nepstar, said, “The Shenzhen TransCard program is another example of our dedication to offering customers the best possible service and convenience. Our ability to leverage China Nepstar’s broad network of stores and develop partnerships with key public vendors, such as Shenzhen Tong TransCard, to increase traffic flow to our stores is a testament to the brand strength we have built and our constant drive for innovation. We are seeking similar opportunities with municipal transit authorities in other cities in China where we have already established an extensive presence. Our goal is to fully integrate China Nepstar

into the daily life of urban residents throughout China.”

The stores of the 22 large chain medical companies, including Hubei Longtai Drugstore, Hubei Jinyaotang Drugstore, Wuhan Jianghan Drugstore, Wuhan Hansen Drugstore, cover Wuhan and nine other cities in Hubei Province, have more than 40% of the market in Wuhan.

According to a representative from Hubei Longtai Drugstore, most of the retail drugstores in Wuhan rely on the supply of medical distribution channels. Medicines are distributed through a lengthy supply chain of national general distributors, provincial general distributors, regional general distributors, and regional distributors before reaching the retail stores, which increase the costs of the products.

After the establishment of the alliance, the medicine purchases for more 2,000 chain drugstores belonging to 22 companies will be made by a professional agency. With this new platform, the retail prices of medicines sold in these stores are expected to be reduced by 3% to 5% as a result of simplifying the distribution process.

In addition, the alliance will be further expanded in the future and the number of member retail medical companies will ultimately reach over 30 with their stores covering 17 cities across the province.

Several years ago, the Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary announced plans to open 1,000 stores in mainland China. Nothhaft said the although the current economic situation is not optimistic, the company has never given up its goal of opening 1,000 outlets in mainland China. According to its budget for 2009, Watsons will open 120 new stores with its focus on six cities in north China and west China.

Though affected by various negative factors, Watsons still opened 86 new stores in 2008.

The latest statistics from the retailer show that Watsons has developed more than 1,500 own brand products, accounting for over one-third of the products sold in its stores. In addition, the prices of its own brand products are 20% to 30% lower than the similar products in other supermarkets. Nothhaft revealed that the company will develop another 240 kinds of own brand products in 2009.

Ian Wade, co-CEO of China Nepstar, said, “This acquisition represents the initial step for China Nepstar to enter into the Beijing market, which we believe to have significant development potential. This is also our first chance to showcase Beijing customers our wide product offerings and advanced store management. We plan to continue to expand in Beijing through gradual ramp-up in new store openings and high quality acquisitions”.

The deal, which gives China Nepstar its first retail presence in Beijing, is expected to be completed in August.

Nine months later, Blockbuster had gone belly up, and Redbox was second only to Netflix as a source of inexpensive movie rentals, solidifying its place as a dominant player in the U.S. home-entertainment market.

At the end of 2010, Redbox operated 30,200 self-service machines dispensing movie DVDs for a dollar a day at supermarkets, drugstores, fast-food restaurants and other places shoppers regularly visit. Redbox took in nearly $1.2 billion last year, accounting for 80 percent of Coinstar’s total revenue.

Bellevue-based Coinstar began buying into Redbox in 2005, when it was a fledgling McDonald’s venture, and took full ownership in 2009.

Although Coinstar has since sold businesses unrelated to Redbox and its namesake coin-counting machines, it continues to look for the next big thing in automated retail.

Redbox, for example, will add video-game rentals costing $2 a day to more than 21,000 locations nationwide by July 1.

Also, Coinstar has injected an undisclosed amount of money into ecoATM, a new venture that seeks to provide a convenient way for people to get cash for their old electronic devices, such as cellphones and iPods.

Still, whether 2011 has a happy ending for Coinstar could depend on what Redbox does next.

Some on Wall Street have grown impatient with Redbox’s indeterminate plans to introduce a video-streaming service on top of physical disc rentals.

In February, Redbox President Mitch Lowe told analysts the company was getting closer to finding an online partner for an unlimited streaming offer to take on Netflix. But the company has said only that full details will be released this year.