ATTRACTIONS
London will certainly be
the flagship for
western Europe, and maybe even for the world
Children attend the opening of KidZania London in July. One million visitors are forecast annually
Andrew Darrow EVP of global business KidZania
What do you do at KidZania? I oversee all the extensions of our business around the world, handling the franchise side of things.
How do you decide where you want to put your next KidZania and how do you handle growth? We’ve been somewhat strategic about the way we’ve grown the business. I was brought in to develop the growth plan for the company, drafting the plan and then going out and selling it. We’ve grown on a regionalised basis, where we’ve establish a flagship in a certain region of the world
KidZania: a history
n The first location opening at the Santa Fe Shopping Mall in Mexico City in September 1999
n Originally named La Ciudad de los Niños (The City of the Children)
n Corporate sponsors contributed 55 per cent of the initial investment into KidZania
n The second KidZania didn’t open until 2006, in Monterrey, Mexico
n Since 2007, 17 new locations have opened worldwide, 16 under a franchise model
n KidZania has welcomed more than 42 million guests since opening
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bring realistic activities to our environment. We don’t necessarily know how to run a repair shop, a diner, a factory or a bank, and so they bring their expertise to help us to create very realistic play activities for kids. Each partner participates in a different way in our business depending on the nature of theirs.
and used that as a centrepiece to grow additional facilities in those areas. Tokyo was a great location for our Asia-
Pacific growth. That facility has sold out for eight years and continues to be sold out today. Dubai has been a flagship for us in the Middle East, and Sao Paulo in Brazil. London will certainly be the flagship for western Europe and maybe even for the world. This may be the most important facility we’ve opened so far.
What is your relationship with partners and brands? Each partner participates in a different way and they each perform some important roles. They make KidZania a much more realistic environment. We always want to create an authentic replica of a city environment. When you walk down a city street, you don’t see signs for “bank” and “airline”, you see signs for “HSBC” and “British Airways”. Partners and brands also help
The brands are looking for a way to communicate with families. We’re extremely sensitive and never let KidZania turn into an opportunity to market to children. What we want to do is create an environment that simply reflects the real world. Brands have the ability to talk as much to parents as to children about the integrity of their products.
What are the criteria when it comes to opening a KidZania? We look for markets that have 4 to 5 million people within a one-hour travel catchment and 600,000 to 700,000 children in the 0-14 age group. We also look for markets which have high per capita GDP and discretionary spending. The essence of our business isn’t tourism; we drive our business from the local resident population and we want to drive repeat business from that population two to five times a year.
Are there size and cost requirements for a new KidZania?
Our traditional facilities – including the newly opened KidZania London – are about 75,000sq ft (6,968sqm). The cost to build is generally similar, per square foot, to the cost of building a five-star hotel, but it will vary from market to market. That should give you a sense of what it would cost to establish a KidZania business.
AM 3 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015
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