Cinépolis, India’s first international and the world’s second largest movie theatre circuit by attendance, has always been recognised as a technologically driven cinema exhibitor with innovation at the forefront. Standing true to its commitment, the brand has recently launched 10-screen megaplex in Forum Shantiniketan, Bengaluru. It is the third in India after Pune and Thane. The megaplex has also launched the first Cinépolis Junior in India.
“In sync with changing customer needs, Cinépolis continually innovates with new and interesting entertainment formats. The new formats offer families an innovative and fun way to connect at one-of-a-kind spaces which are designed keeping children in mind,” says Javier Sotomayor, Managing Director, Cinépolis Asia.
“Cinépolis has redefined the movie-going experience by introducing many industry firsts in India such as the concept of Megaplex in November 2013, the 4DX format in 2014 and the first wireless VR gaming zone (Pune) to name a few. With focus on ensuring usage of globally disruptive technologies, we boast of the finest technologies like IMAX, RealD 3D and Dolby Atmos,” he adds.
In its first decade of operations in India, it has established its position as the third largest cinema exhibitor.
A Chef-Designed Menu
Just like the brand has been introducing new technologies time and again, it has also revamped its entire food menu and has introduced food innovations in collaboration with celebrated chef Saransh Goila.
“Understanding the importance of a quality culinary experience, we constantly innovate with our offerings. Recently, we have partnered with celebrity chef Saransh Goila to launch over 100 dishes as a part of its new lip smacking menu,”Sotomayor states.
“Apart from this, our signature ‘Coffee Tree’ brand provides a gourmet menu of delectable food and beverages offering a plethora of cuisines from Italian to Mexican,” he adds.
A host of innovative and first-of-its-kind services are also being devised by the brand, endorsing their own commitment of setting new benchmarks in the ever-expanding cinema exhibition industry.
Location Strategy
Aggressive expansion is a vital part of Cinépolis’ commitment towards building its India growth story. There are multiple factors that influence location finalisation; one of the prerequisites being prime/central locations as it ensures easy accessibility, higher footfalls and promises a high return on investment.
“We also conduct psychographic and competitive analysis and utilize the insights to finalize the location of the next screen release,” Sotomayor reveals. “We believe that a higher number of screens in a multiplex are more beneficial for the consumers as they can go watch a movie at any given time. It also gives the exhibitors like us the opportunity to showcase different and niche content; be it Hollywood, Bollywood or regional. We are in sync with the demand have up to 15 screens in our megaplexes,” he adds.
Cinépolis gives preference to malls where the promoters retain their interest in the mall by offering 100 percent lease and not selling spaces.
“Based on the revenue potential of the mall, we do offer minimum guarantee. However, revenue sharing is the most successful model which has worked globally, and it results in a win-win situation for mall developers and cinema owners. Hence, we do offer a reasonable minimum guarantee or revenue share, whichever is higher,” he states.
Future Plans
The brand, which boasts of 371 screens, has aggressively pursued expansion in prime locations of not only Tier 1 cities but also Tier II and III cities.
“We are currently focusing on aggressive expansion backed by the strategic move of opening multiplexes at prime locations. In terms of numbers, we are looking at increasing our footprint to 600 screens in India by 2022,” Sotomayor concludes.
