Hungry for expansion and desire to get closer to consumers: Alok Tandon of Inox Group

Inox so far has added 7 cinemas and 37 screens in this financial year including a 3-screen multiplex in Srinagar. The upcoming cinema launches lined up in cities are Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Delhi, Patna, Indore and Dharwad

Ever since commencing operations in year 2002, INOX has been engaging the masses and has entertained more than 700 million guests throughout the journey. With 712 perfectly appointed screens in 167 multiplexes across the country, INOX continues to be an epitome, getting closer to the Indian cinema lovers. The flagship venture of the $5 billion INOX Group, INOX Leisure Limited remains on a growth path which is envied across the globe.

The brand has always worked upon enhancing the experiences, right from creating a world-class infrastructure which is high on comfort and aesthetics, to staying updated with the latest in the cinema technology space.

In an exclusive interaction with IMAGES Retail, Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, Inox Leisure Limited, talks about the brand’s achievements, vision and goals after celebrating the 20th anniversary.

INOX recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Tell us about the journey of the brand highlighting the key milestones.

We have been entertaining India for more than 2 decades now. In 2002, we opened our first multiplex in Bund Garden, Pune, with 4 screens, and today we take pride in entertaining India through our 712 screens appointed at 167 multiplexes in 74 cities. We have also recently crossed the milestones of entertaining 700 million guests at our cinemas in our entire lifetime.

These two decades have seen us redefine the cinema experience, with luxury, service, technology and great food. We have grown double digits ever since we opened barring two years of COVID. We have curated the signature INOX experience, right from the moment the consumer decides to watch the movie, till the time he exits the multiplex.

In the process, we have achieved plenty of firsts. We were the first cinema chain to introduce the concept of Laserplex, a multiplex with all screens equipped with laser projection. We ushered India’s first MX4D screen with advanced multi-sensory theatre effects. We became the first cinema chain in India to introduce the 270-degree multi-projection technology – ScreenX.

In order to nurture a stronger bond with our guests, we introduced a tier-based loyalty program, which was also an industry first. Very recently, we became the first cinema chain in India to offer an app-based payment wallet.

Multiplexes were the last retail segment to open after the lockdown. How has the recovery period been for the brand so far, on the parameters of revenue and footfalls?

Not only us, but the way the entire industry has posted a recovery, which has been phenomenal. We were fortunate to have a great line-up of content by our side, which coupled with the pent-up appetite for the giant screen experience, which has brought us back to the pre-COVID levels on most parameters.

Above reasons, and some excellent consumer outreach initiatives, helped us report Q1’FY23 as the best Quarter in our entire history, with the highest-ever Revenues, EBITDA and PAT.

The pandemic could not deter our hunger for growth. We have already opened 7 cinemas with 37 screens in FY23 so far, which is the highest screen addition in Industry.

Tell us about the highlights of Q2’FY23 of INOX, highlighting the profit percentage and revenue generated in this quarter.

Pandemic has taught us to remain battle-fit and come up with answers to diȲ cult situations. The 2nd quarter of FY23 was impacted by the inconsistency in the content value chain, proving the importance of great quality content yet again. We are delighted with our promising performance on the F&B front with our highest ever ‘Quarterly Spends Per Head’.

Our foray in Kashmir with the region’s first multiplex marked the revival of cinemas in the valley, and we are quite upbeat about this historic launch, which underlines our desire to entertain India across its length and breadth. The spectacular content pipeline, the festive fervour and our consistent rigour will certainly mark a great year for us.

How has consumer behaviour changed in the post-lockdown period? 

The pandemic has led us to highly aware and discerning consumers, technology interventions, and their growing aspirations have made every business face competition and challenges, and the cinema exhibition business is no exception. With movies being an integral part of our culture and well-knit into our emotional fabric, consumption and affinity are always going to remain on an upward growth trajectory, despite more options to consume content.

The core of the cinema exhibition industry is the passion and fondness for the giant screen experience, prevalent in the Indian masses, and we are optimistic that the lockdowns could not challenge that passion and fondness of our patrons.

We used the lockdown to re-engineer and innovate, only to ensure that we remain relevant to the evolved crop of audience. Whether through our product design, our consumer outreach, our content innovation or through our smart digital interventions, we have been reinventing the aesthetics of cinema viewing experience, while ensuring that the core cinema-watching fun remains intact.

Talk to us about the new launches of the brand? What is the total number of screens in India, also highlighting the upcoming projects? 

Inox so far has added 7 cinemas and 37 screens in this financial year, which is highest in the industry so far. These 7 cinemas include a 3-screen multiplex in Srinagar. This first multiplex of Kashmir region brings back the contemporary giant-screen movie-watching experience back to the valley after more than 3 decades. We have also opened a 10-screen Megaplex at Emerald Mall, Lucknow. Going forward, our endeavour is to continue finding opportunities to grow and bringing in best-in-class entertainment experiences for our consumers in the country. As of today, INOX operates 167 multiplexes spanning 712 screens across 74 cities.

We have our upcoming cinema launches lined up in cities including Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Delhi, Patna, Indore and Dharwad.

How many screens do you plan to open in the next calendar, and have you shortlisted the cities for the launch? Highlight the strategy/ roadmap for the brand growth and expansion?

We have always been hungry for expansion and there is a strong desire to get closer to our consumers and leverage the dynamics of huge appetite with low screen penetration in our market and also take our signature experience to masses. We ended CY 21 and FY 22 with highest screen additions in the industry. We stayed committed to our growth and expansion plans despite of COVID. Currently, INOX operates 167 multiplexes spanning 712 screens across 74 cities. We look to add 40 more screens with 9 new properties in the remaining part of FY23. We are conȱ dent of pursuing an expansion strategy and have a pipeline of 800+ additional screens after FY23.

Tell us about the consumer experience at INOX? Highlight the new features and services? 

With customer at the core of all our decisions, we continue to innovate on the experience front, and ensure that our consumers remain engaged, aware and loyal, while being pampered with the best in luxury, services, technology and food. We lay a lot of focus on innovation, as it has been the cornerstone of our way of working. Since the pandemic started, we did some path-breaking innovations revolving around the giant screen, like private screenings, alternate content screening like ICC T20 Cricket World Cup and FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar, unique brand collaborations, introduction of new F&B concepts etc.

We introduced our own line of merchandise, where INOX fans can buy products and feel connected with their favourite superheroes or movie franchisees.

We have also recently launched an AI powered chatbot named ‘OPUS,’ which can be accessed on WhatsApp, INOX’s website and app. With an objective to make INOX’s customer interface comprehensive and integrated digitally, OPUS, the chatbot is designed to deliver a seamless self-service experience to book movie tickets and order F&B across all our properties and enable faster resolution of consumer queries and issues.

Tell us about the digital innovations at INOX, focusing on the buzz around InstaPay.

INOX has been making giant strides on the cinema exhibition technology and digital interventions front, with some decisive and ground-breaking initiatives. We have put technology to use, wherever it matters, be it for enhancing the viewing experience of our guests, or marketing, or for operations. We have observed that the consumer habits are changing, and the new age technology helps us to tap those behavioural patterns more aptly, quickly and in a realistic form. Therefore, we also recently introduced India’s first cinema payment wallet – InstaPay which is designed to make the consumer experience quick, safe, contactless and rewarding.

InstaPay allows us to strengthen the affinity that we command from our guests, besides ensuring repeat transactions. We are witnessing heavy traction on the buying behaviour of our guests with active InstaPay accounts, as they not only get their due value for money spent, but also gains them access to certain privileges like premier invitations and movie merchandise.

We continue to take pride in introducing India to global cinema viewing technologies like the multi-sensory MX4D or the 270-degree viewing experience ScreenX. IMAX will continue to remain a significant part of our technology story, with its immersive experience. The endeavour would be to take these formats and experiences closer to our consumers and give them access to the most captivating cinema-watching experiences in the world.

What is the USP of InstaPay? 

InstaPay is fast, safe and a rewarding way to make payments for tickets and food across all INOX cinemas in India. Designed to make the consumer experience quick, safe, contactless and rewarding, this first- of-its-kind digital cinema wallet can be used on INOX Website, App and at Box-oȲ ce & concession counters.

The visitors can use their InstaPay wallet as an electronic prepaid INOX account, which comes with a lot of advantages and exciting rewards. With Instapay, we aim to strengthen our bond with the consumers, offering convenience and hassle-free service. It also helps us to better understand consumer behaviour, and it also allows us to roll out curated offers and experiences based on their consumption patterns.

INOX has rolled out the new line of merchandise, where customers can buy products online or offline. Emphasize on this new aspect of alternate revenue? What are the products available on the online platform and how has been the response?

With this initiative, we aim to make the audience feel closer to their favorite heroes from Disney, Marvel, Lucas Films, Warner Bros (DC Comics), Universal with an irresistible range of products. With customized and merchandise products of the Indian Cricket Team and IPL available through FanCode and MPL respectively, the sporting fans are also in for a treat. Going forward, customers can expect exciting high-end products from premium lifestyle brands. Customers can send gift hampers for special occasions like Birthdays/Anniversaries and can create customized awards and trophies. The high-quality printing on the products will offer a delightful experience. Products prepared Just- in-Timewith the help of a high-quality Print-on-demand facility on a daily basis with free shipping service, will guarantee a memorable product experience for the buyers.

Popular products available on INOX’s merchandising website include customized and branded T-Shirts, Hoodies, Travel Essentials, Sipper Bottles, Coasters, Desk and Mouse Pad, Laptop Sleeves, Phone Cases, Caps, Mugs, Wireless Charger, Speaker, Notebooks, Headphones and much more.

This article first appeared in the Images Retail Magazine January 2023 issue.