What Is Meant by Multiplex ? a Multiplex Is a Movie Theater
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What is meant by multiplex ? A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically more than one screen within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an extension or expansion of the building. The largest of these complexes can sit thousands of people and are sometimes referred to as a megaplex 2. State the major costs that occur in multiplex business. But increasingly, theatre owners are realising that the culprit may lie closer home: High ticket prices. At a time when DVDs and home theatres are very affordable, how many families still consider the Rs 1,000-odd they spend for a weekend outing at any upmarket multiplex to be of good value? Very few, it seems. Given the kind of investments they have pumped in, multiplex chains haven't been able to set cash registers ringing. "If the phenomenon has to explode and multiplex owners sustain volumes across weekdays and weekends, then low-cost, no-frills options are the only way out,"says a Delhi-based multiplex operator. It's a view echoed by former CEO of Inox Leisure, Shishir Baijal. "It's only when you encompass the masses that the real multiplex revolution will happen. Large consumption centres, where ticket prices hover around Rs 40-50, hold tremendous potential,"he says. But to cash in on that potential, multiplexes would need to bring down construction costs. Today, it can take up to Rs 40-50 crores to set up a premium five-screen multiplex in a metro, while the same in a smaller town costs between Rs 10-15 crore, estimates GW Capital, a private equity firm. But owners are now realising that if done right, a stripped down multiplex can be set up much cheaper. Typically, fit-out costs (cost of doing up the interiors) range anywhere between Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.75 crore per screen. "Cutting down on the fancy stuff could bring down costs by half,"says Rajat Kumar, V-P (marketing) at DT Cinemas, which is toying with the idea of setting up low-cost variants in smaller cities, like Nagpur or Nashik. That is because a prominent location cannot be compromised. So, what is basic and what are the trimmings? Says Shravan Shroff, MD of Shringar Cinema, "You still need to pamper the customer. A multiplex should be able to tell what adds value and what's superfluous." PVR Cinemas is learnt to be exploring setting up air-cooled, budget multiplexes. Refusing to confirm this, PVR acknowledges the potential this segment holds. "It's a big opportunity, given the huge appetite India's one billion population has for movies,"says Tushar Dhingra, PVR's V-P (marketing). Despite the number of multiplexes, India still remains underscreened. Compare India's 12 screens per million to US's 112 screens per million people or Europe's 75 screens per million. Which is probably why multiplexes, which have just opened up in smaller towns, continue to do roaring business. Industry watchers say that like any other industry, as multiplexes evolve, coming years shall see segmentation or the emergence of multiple formats. "In time, premium multiplexes, budget ones and even refurbished single-screen theatres will co-exist and cater to their own niche client-base,"says Vikram Nirula, who tracks media and entertainment at GW Capital. For viewers, not only will it mean being able to pick the kind of movie they want to watch, but also the kind of theatre they want to watch it in. 3. Discuss the application of marketing mix concepts in service industry. The marketing mix is used to reach a target market and is often referred to as the "four Ps" of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place. Those selling a product must develop a product that meets the needs of the target market, set a price for the product, get it to a place where the consumers can buy it (distribute it), and inform the target market about it (promotion). A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer in the target market needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The price is very important as it determines the company's profit and hence, its survival. Promotion represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Place refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access. Place is synonymous with distribution. After identifying a target market, your next step is developing and implementing amarketing program designed to reach it. This program involves a combination of tools called the marketing mix, often referred to as the "four Ps" of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place . The Marketing Mix The 4 Ps of marketing. Product A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer in the target market needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. Intangible products are service-based like products in the tourism industry, the hotel industry and the financial industry. Tangible products are those that have an independent, physical existence. Typical examples of mass-produced, tangible objects are the car and the disposable razor. Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth phase, followed by a maturity phase, and finally an eventual period of decline as sales falls. Marketers must do careful research on how long the life-cycle of the product they are marketing is likely to be and focus their attention on different challenges that arise as the product moves through each stage. The marketer must also consider the product mix. Marketers can expand the current product mix by increasing a certain product line's depth or by increasing the number of product lines. Marketers should consider how to position the product, how to exploit the brand, how to exploit the company's resources, and how to configure the product mix so that each product complements others. The marketer must also consider product development strategies. Price The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The price is very important as it determines the company's profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a profound impact on the marketing strategy, as it will often affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer should set a price that complements the other elements of the marketing mix. When setting a price, the marketer must be aware of the customer's perceived value for the product. There are various strategies that can be applied when pricing a product like skimming and penetration pricing. Skimming means to price the product highly to increase profits. For example if you invent a new software which no one else has, you can skim the market because the customers are forced to buy from you until there is more competition. Penetration pricing can be applied when you want to enter a market and price your product lower than the perceived market price so that more people will buy it and this will increase your market share. Promotion Promotion represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements such as advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for. This can be in the form of television commercials, radio and Internet advertisements or through print media and billboards. Public relations is where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word-of-mouth is any apparently informal communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word-of-mouth momentum. Sales staff often play an important role in word-of- mouth and public relations. Place Place refers to providing the product at a place or places which is convenient for consumers to access it. Place is synonymous with distribution. Various strategies such as intensive distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the marketer to complement the other aspects of the marketing mix. State the reasons for developing shopping centres. Didnt find 6.What are the sources of revenue in multiplex theatres ? place of rental agreements, mostly in small towns. The theatre chain owners will share 10-15% of net ticket sales with the mall developers, according to these arrangements. “We are looking at managing our P&L (profit and loss) in a better manner and the revenue-sharing deals with mall owners is one measure to reduce cost,” said Nitin Sood, chief financial officer at PVR Ltd, which has 173 screens in 40 cinema halls across 24 cities. This model will lower a multiplex operator’s cost by nearly 20%, he said. A multiplex typically spends 13-15% on rent, 10% on employees, 15-20% on overheads, 6-7% on food and beverage, and another 30% on hiring the movies to be screened and towards sharing the revenue with producers and distributors, according to industry executives. “In lean months, fixed liability in terms of rents hurt our pockets. Therefore, in our upcoming property in Gulbarga ( Karnataka), we have signed a revenue-sharing deal with the developer,” said Jitendra Mehta, chief financial officer, Cinemax India Ltd. “While we are going slow in our pan-India, tier 2 and 3 expansion, our focus is in smaller towns in south (India).” Cinemax is negotiating a similar deal for two existing cinemas in Mumbai, he added.