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So Much For A Soda... How About A Car?
Coinstar, the company that gives consumers machines to count their change and rent DVDs, looks to be going into the cosmetics business – adding to the long line of unique vending machine offerings that go well beyond sodas and chips.
Building on the fact that cosmetics are selling well on the Internet, where a salesperson isn’t there to help customers face-to-face, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Coinstar is seeking a vice-president-level manager to oversee “a new venture in the beauty or cosmetics space.”
The company gave the Journal a vague response on its plans:
“We are continually looking at new opportunities in the self-service, automated retail space and plan to have a number of seed businesses that we’re testing and evaluating at any given time,” and added it would premature to comment on the early concept.
It sounds like a good idea. Why not give it a try? Stranger things have been sold in vending machines. At a Sony store I saw a vending machine full of iPods and other electronic devices, possibly aimed at travelers. A woman walked up, swiped her credit card, and had a new iPod in her hands in seconds.
Vending machines are much more popular in Europe and Japan, where the kiosks line whole blocks with everything you could imagine: beer, porn magazines, batteries, rice, hot meals and toilet paper.
Check out our slideshow to see some unique vending machines you’ll find in America:
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