Scale & Scope

No stranger to changing tastes, Acorn’s management knows it must be flexible within its merchandising strategy to remain competitive. As noted earlier, the shift from documentaries to dramas began in 1994. In 1999, the company sensed a new shift and began licensing performance videos, such as “Bernadette Peters in Concert.” By 2003, there were almost no documentaries left in the catalog, but seeing the more recent commercial success of the documentary form, Acorn reintroduced it into the mix. As Edwards notes, the advent of the DVD may be changing the documentary market. The trick is to stay true to the idea that Acorn customers want their entertainment to be of exceptionally high quality.