Major Cineplex
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | SET: MAJOR |
| Industry |
Movie theaters Bowling alleys Karaoke, Real estate |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Key people |
Vicha Poolvaraluck, chairman Kittsanan Ngamphathipong, chief executive Wichai Poolworaluk, chief executive, EGV Entertainment Arthorn Techatantiwong, deputy managing director, bowling Aorrawan Kowathana, deputy managing director, service operations |
| Revenue | 5,767.08 million baht |
| Net income | 626.36 million baht[1] |
| Subsidiaries |
Bangkok IMAX Theater Co. Ltd. EGV Entertainment Public Co. Ltd. Major Cineplex Property Co. Ltd. Paragon Cineplex |
| Website | www.majorcineplex.com |
Major Cineplex Group Public Co. Ltd. is the largest operator of movie theaters in Thailand. Combined with its subsidiary, EGV Entertainment, the company has 258 screens in 32 locations. Among its properties is Thailand's largest multiplex, the Paragon Cineplex at Siam Paragon, with 16 screens and 5,000 seats, along with the country's only IMAX theater. The second-largest chain in Thailand is SF Cinema City.
History
Major Cineplex was founded by Vicha Poolvaraluk (or Poolvaraluck) in 1996. A member of a family with roots in the movie business (the family was involved in film studios as well as several single-screen theaters), Vicha started out in property development.
In 1992, he was asked by his father, Charoen Poolvaraluck, to take over the movie theater business. Vicha decided on a concept of large movie complexes that could offer a range of entertainment services, including not only movies, but also bowling alleys, karaoke rooms, restaurants and shopping. The first such complex opened in 1996 on Nakhon Chaisri Road in Pinklao, Bangkok. The 14-screen, 4,000-seat Major Cineplex Ratchayothin opened in 1998 and featured Thailand's first IMAX cinema. It was the company's flagship cinema complex until 2006, when Paragon Cineplex opened. Other early Major Cineplex theaters include branches at Ramkamheang and Sukhumvit.[2]
In 2004, Major Cineplex absorbed Thailand's No 2 theater operator, EGV Entertainment, which was Thailand's first cineplex operator. EGV had been owned by a rival branch of the Poolvaraluck family, headed by Vicha Poolvaraluck's cousin, Wichai Poolvaraluck, who started EGV as a partnership with Golden Village.[3]
Theaters
Major Cineplex
There are at least 19 Major Cineplex-branded theaters in Thailand, with the number expected to grow in the coming years. The company aims to increase its total number of screens to 500 (including EGV cinemas) by 2012. Major Cineplex's theaters range from shopping complexes, anchored by the cineplex, such as Major Cineplex Ratchayothin or Major Cineplex Sukhumvit, that include bowling alleys, fitness centers, restaurants and shops, to multiplexes that are part of larger shopping malls, such as the Bang Na or Rama III branches in Bangkok.
At the theaters themselves, there is a range of seating choices, including the luxury "Emperor" class, which is similar to EGV's "Gold Class" (see below), and "Opera", which provides a sofa-like seat, designed for couples.
In December 2006, the company debuted another flagship brand, the Esplanade Cineplex, consisting of 13 theaters and a 26-lane bowling alley at the Esplanade complex on Ratchadapisek Road in Bangkok's Din Daeng district.[4]
EGV
Thailand's first cineplex operator, EGV, or Entertain Golden Village, was formed in 1993 by Wichai Poolworaluk's Entertainment Theatres Network as a joint venture with Hong Kong's Golden Harvest and Australia's Village Roadshow (which formed Golden Village).
The first cineplex was opened in 1994 at Future Park Bang Khae. Other branches include the EGV Grand in Siam Discovery Center (opposite Siam Square) and the EGV Metropolis, which anchors a BigC shopping center on Rajadamri Road in Pathum Wan district, Bangkok, opposite Central World Plaza.
Village Roadshow took over Golden Harvest's stake in 2000, and in 2002, Wichai bought out Village Roadshow's 50% interest.[5] The company then merged with Major Cineplex in 2004, putting aside a rivalry within the Poolvaraluck family.
EGV's theaters
Aside from its EGV-branded multiplexes, EGV has the following:
- Gold Class – Smaller theaters, located on existing EGV properties, with their own box offices. The screening rooms have around 50 seats, with heavily padded reclining chairs and valet food-and-drink service. Blankets, pillows and foot-warming stockings are provided. EGV was the pioneer in this concept of luxury movie-going in Thailand and it remains popular.
- D-Cine – Small, living-room-like theaters where customers can program their own DVD movie showings.
- Drive-In Café – A short-lived concept, this was tried in 2004 in an auditorium at EGV Seacon in Prawet district. Featuring a 1950s American drive-in theater motif, the audience sat in automobile-like restaurant booths and could be served hot dogs and hamburgers while they watched a movie.
Paragon Cineplex
Opened in early 2006, Paragon Cineplex is on the fifth floor of the Siam Paragon shopping mall. With 16 screens and 5,000 seats, it is Thailand's largest movie theater. It includes the 1,200-seat Siam Pavalai Royal Grand Theatre by Bangkok Hospital as well as some smaller Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Screens with reclining seats. There is also the Enigma, a members-only cinema.
Krung Sri IMAX
Thailand's only IMAX cinema is part of the Paragon Cineplex at Siam Paragon. It was formerly located at the Major Cineplex Ratchayothin, Major Cineplex Pinklao.
Hatyai Cineplex
A new brand of Major Cineplex chain, exclusively built in CentralFestival Hatyai. It is said to be the best and most-equipped cinema in the southern Thailand. With 10 cinemas, including IMAX - with the latest technology HFR 3D, the Ultra Screen, and 8 digital cinemas. The design of its cinema is related to the crystal design of the shopping centre.
Other businesses
While movie theaters are Major Cineplex Group's core business, the company is heavily involved in the bowling alley business, with a total of 360 lanes under its Major Bowl Hit! brand. It also has 222 karaoke rooms.
Major's property development arm leases retail space to outside tenants in its anchored shopping malls. Major Cineplex also has a 25% stake in Siam Future Development Plc (SET: SF), a developer of shopping malls.
The company has also invested in the growing California WOW Xperience Plc (SET: CAWOW), the leading fitness center operator in Thailand. It has 10 branches: eight in Bangkok, and one each in Pattaya and Chiang Mai. It branched off due to foreign ownership rules for the wholly owned Asian subsidiary of 24 Hour Fitness, called California Fitness, and has member swap agreements with both chains. It holds a 36.75% stake in that venture, and consequently, California's Fitness Center branches are becoming part of Major Cineplex's developments.[6]
In 2007, Major Cineplex's ticketing service, Major Ticketing, which sold advance bookings for movies, as well as other events, merged with BEC-TERO's Thaiticketmaster. The merged entity is called Thaiticketmajor.
References
- ↑ Stock Exchange of Thailand, , 27 January 2010.
- ↑ The Nation, "Son also rises at Major Cineplex", June 28, 2001 (retrieved via Siam Future on January 29, 2007.
- ↑ Amnatcharoen, Bam (June 13, 2004), "EGV, Major Cineplex to merge", Variety.
- ↑ Rungfapaisarn, Kwanchai (May 3, 2006), "Major goes for 500 screens in six years", The Nation.
- ↑ Kim Eng Securities, "Bright earnings picture for cinema operator" (PDF), May 27, 2003.
- ↑ Tisco Hong Kong, "Embarking on a new era in growth" (PDF), February 10, 2006.
External links
- Major Cineplex corporate website
- Financial Statement Quarter 1/2006 (ZIP) at the Stock Exchange of Thailand
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