Cinema chains major, PVR, is on an expansion drive with four PVR BluO lounges slated to be launched by 2012-13 in addition to the existing three. With rising health consciousness among consumers, the marketing agenda is to revive bowling as a fitness sport with a flavour of fashion and Bollywood. Hence, the company recently signed on tinsel town?s newcomer Nargis Fakhri as the brand ambassador and is investing Rs One crore per centre in brand building efforts and marketing activities.
PVR BluO is now looking at entering newer geographies, particularly mini metros, with an aim to garner Rs 60 crore as turnover by the next fiscal. Apart from the three centres in Delhi, Gurgaon and Bangalore, the company is mulling to set shop in Pune, Chandigarh and Ludhiana with a second addition in Bangalore.? Currently, the company earns around Rs 15 crore from the three existing centres. In terms of investments the thumb rule cost per set up is about Rs 80 lakh per lane (for example, if it is a 20 lane centre it will be approximately around Rs 16 crore). For the record, Gurgaon is a 24 lane lounge, while the Delhi and Banglore ones are 26 and 27 lanes respectively. Hence, the approximate cost falls between Rs 80-85 lakh on an average, minus 10-15 per cent of the CAPEX required to start.
Bowled over
BluO seems to be a logical extension of the brand?s core business of cinema as India is an entertainment driven country. Added to this is the sudden rise in the mall culture, which has helped concepts like bowling alleys and other amusement projects get a completely different edge and feel. Hence, PVR is leveraging its brand equity in the cinema industry for its retail business and attributes the push to the 35 million audience it gets at its cinemas. ?PVR cinema is always been talking to a discerning audience. In fact we introduced our audience to BluO thru in cinema advertising and branding. We are talking to the same customer, who is an entertainment seeker,? shares Gautam Dutta, COO, PVR.
However, in the early 90s when bowling had entered the Indian gaming industry as a recreation option along with pool and snookers, it witnessed a tepid start. So, how is PVR ensuring the revival of interest in the game among consumers now? Dutta says that infrastructural developments like the mall culture in metros and mini metros have changed the retail landscape of the country. PVR has found an untapped opportunity into the changing psyche of consumers who are looking beyond just watching movies. Hence, the company has augmented the idea of the game and positioned it as a fashion bowling concept. ?Bowling is positioned as a sport in India, but India is not really a sports watching or playing nation and more into leisure and entertainment. So, we took away the serious part of the sport and added fun, fashion and leisure to the game,? Dutta adds. He goes on to say that the manner T20 has changed cricket by adding a glamour quotient to the sport, is what BluO is trying to do to the game of bowling.
Sporting a new look
For instance, according to the COO, the 24 lane bowling alley in Ambience mall in Gurgaon represents state of the art infrastructure with cosmic lighting, entertainment aspects like music, world cuisine, Xbox gaming lounge, tattoo parlours, merchandise shops and much more. The company isn?t threatened by replication as it feels that its affinity to Indian cinema and marketing gives it an edge over others. Thus, in terms of market share Dutta says that the company happens to be the only one in this domain. ?Though it is difficult to assess the share, we define the market and in that case we have a 100 per cent market share. Moreover, this is a unique concept where PVR holds a monopoly situation,? he stresses. For the record, BluO as a fashion bowling concept was born in Thailand, as a brand from Major Cineplex. Inspired by the same, PVR brought the concept to India in a JV with the Thai company, with PVR having 51 per cent stake. However, the Indian partner added concepts like tattoo parlours and Xbox lounge, to enhance consumer experience. Concepts like Xbox and Pro Shop selling bowling sports related merchandise, add to the USP of the concept, while building traction for the company.
In terms of TG of the brand, it cuts across all age groups, particularly between eight year old kids and tapering off to around 40-45 year olds, including corporates. ?Audiences keep changing throughout the day. As the day begins we have professional bowlers in the morning, little later in the noon school kids and college goers throng the place followed by young corporate professionals in the evening. And towards the end of the day we see families coming in. Hence, the brand has been able to straddle across various TGs because of the nature of the concept,? he adds. The brand claims to get a footfall of around 2,100 per centre average on a daily basis on a week day, which goes up to 3,000 on weekends. And according to Dutta all footfalls translate into sales whether that comes from the game, food or liquor.
Thus, the location strategy is in line with its TG. For Dutta these have to be destination malls, with conducive index i.e. propensity of the consumer to be able to adapt to such a format and willingness to pay. However, despite the starry touch to the lounges, the sport is not very overpriced. A game of bowling in the morning costs Rs 100 for an hour and Rs 200-225 during the evening prime time. Food is also available at special two and four dollars (around Rs 100-300) menu.
Getting the ball rolling
The company claims to have aggressive marketing and branding plans. For example, it keeps offering special menus like ?rainy season cutting chai and pakoda festival?, corporate bowling tournaments, pageants, catwalks, music festivals, launching of music bands and more.? It has tied up with Lufthansa to launch a corporate bowling tournament, and in the past had tied up with Woodland, Puma and Lacoste. In terms of customer loyalty enhancement, the brand gives discounts and deals to niche corporate groups like Pepsi and Lufthansa employees.
In terms of ATL, the company invests in mass media, including print like HT and Times of India and TV channels like MTV and Channel V. It is also active on Facebook. In addition, it launched an Airtel Friend Zone within the lounges, wherein pictures of the bowler in action are taken, without the customer?s knowledge with cameras attached on top of the lanes. At the end of the game the customer is handed a code along with the bill to move into the zone and see those pictures, which can be uploaded there and then on social media websites.
Hit and miss
Overall Dutta feels that since entertainment is a recession proof industry, there is ample scope for the brand to expand; however, the only challenge comes from lack of infrastructure in smaller towns beyond metros and mini metros. ?Smaller cities lack that and to grow we need malls and space. Beyond three-four years when we would like to expand into these towns, it will be quite a task for us if infrastructure is not in place,? sums up Dutta. Till then the company is focusing on BluO, mapping the course of its future in a country, which had earlier rejected the idea of the game. Whether, the larger than life appeal of the lounge be able to sustain the consumer?s enthusiasm, is something to look out for.
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