As a result, we’ve seen some great new developments that include cinemas: EntX , which opened in Christchurch in September, is the most recent. Lynnmall in Auckland added a multiplex in 2015, and Bayfair, Tauranga Crossing and Westfield Newmarket are all constructing multiplex cinemas at the moment.
On a smaller scale, RCG are very pleased to have been involved with boutique cinemas in Sydenham, Christchurch and Excelsa Village, Mt Maunganui.
Like other anchor tenants, cinemas tend to be “loss leaders” for shopping centres. They bring in new customers, people who are likely to do some shopping or grab a meal as well as catching a movie. And this turns out to be just as valuable in 2018 as it was 20 years ago.
Shopping centre owners can make the most of their investment in cinemas by creating late-night dining precincts, extending shopping hours, encouraging cross-promotion between the cinema and other tenants, and carefully managing parking to get the right balance between movie-goers and more active shoppers.
Cinemas can make use of upper level or “deep” space that would otherwise be difficult to lease, and help to activate these areas. As with all retail, there’s an opportunity if the population and spending power keeps growing.
Cinemas also need to communicate their value offering to landlords. The trailers at the start of each movie are a valuable advertising tool. Cinemas are also getting better at collecting and using customer data.
For Event Cinemas, the largest operator in NZ, online booking is surprisingly low at 30% - clearly people don’t like paying a dollar or two extra - but there are more than 1.5 million Cinebuzz members, accounting for 64% of admissions.
Those are impressive numbers.
Today, cinemas have also diversified into corporate entertainment and events, and merchandise sales are just as important as the old staple of popcorn.
Boutique cinemas can also be key destinations in their own right. The best of them have integrated food & beverage, and are hubs for their communities. Many of them have their own story to tell; saved from the wrecking ball and now refurbished and digitised for a modern era.
These include the Roxy Cinema in Miramar, the Hollywood in Avondale, the Regent in Te Awamutu, Cinema Paradiso in Wanaka, and many more. They all remind us that retail and recreation in 2018 is about experiences.
Story by:
John Polkinghorne, Associate Director, RCG
11 Dec, 2018