New 'hang out zones' as part of family entertainment

Competition has started hotting up in the Rs 40,000 crore Indian entertainment segment with companies planning to offer new hang out zones apart from scaling up their family entertainment centres concept. Galaxy Entertainment Corporation Ltd, part of the Future Group, is planning to setup 25 leisure and entertainment 'Sports Bar Express Zones' in India including passive (multiple plasmas, LCD TVs), and active sports (basket ball, pool table and dart board), Sanjay Saxeria, its director, told FE. Suncity Entertainment, through its sister concern Jovial Entertainment, is planning to launch 30 'Viking' zones, a blend of hang out zones in India with options like bowling alles, online gaming, console gaming, redemption games with an area size of between 10,000 sq ft to 60,000 sq ft in India in the next 24 months. Landmark Group is looking at scaling up the number of FunCity zones. According to Saxeria, "Family entertainment centres are concepts basically meant to increase footfalls at hypermarkets, retaining footprints within the malls, apart from increasing the consumption hours of the consumer in a mall. We are already running 20 family entertainment centres in India with a concept of video games, console gaming, bowling alles apart from sports bar express as well. For the next two years, we are shifting focus into setting up many sports bar express concepts in India."
Rashmi Punwar, spokesperson from Suncity Entertainment said, "We are setting up a 60,000 sq ft 'Viking' entertainment centre in Jaipur. Plans are on the anvil to set up six similar such centres in India by this year-end. We plan to invest Rs 200 crore in the first phase and the funds would be sourced from the private equity players. We are currently talking to mall developers and residential developers majors in India in order to set up 'Viking' zones within their planned real estate projects." Private equity players are planning to bring in foreign funds in India to tie up with entertainment majors in order to enable the later to offer various options to customers.
As for the rationale behind the move, Punwar explained that the new hang out concepts are meant to bridge the gap between a multiplex and food courts where bowling alles, online gaming, console gaming will be targeted at young generations from school and colleges, redemption games will be aimed at kids below 10 years of age