In 2018, Ukraine’s largest cinema chain was forced to close its facility in the Era Rivne cinema center due to the termination of the cinema rental agreement. Multiplex already then planned to return to Rivne, opening a cinema in a new place. However, everything turned out to be not so simple: the company spent about a year searching the location alone. Only very recently it became known about the signing of an agreement on the opening of a five-screen cinema in the Equator shopping and entertainment center in Rivne.
Difficulty moving
As told, in the consulting company Retail & Development Advisor, which acted as a broker when signing the lease agreement in the shopping center, there are a number of difficulties in finding suitable premises for opening a cinema.
“In addition to the usual requirements for a convenient location, high traffic and a suitable area, cinemas have some specific requirements for the configuration of the premises. In fact, in Rivne, at the time Multiplex left the Era cinema center, there were no locations suitable for opening a new cinema. Therefore, the company had to look for alternative ways to return to the city, ”says Alexander Fialka, partner of Retail & Development Advisor.
According to him, one of these options was the placement of a cinema in the largest shopping and entertainment center of the Equator region, in which there was the possibility of reconstruction to accommodate cinema halls.
The conclusion of agreements on opening a cinema was preceded by a lengthy negotiation process, the difficulties of which were added to the technical difficulties of the project.
“The project is technically complex: to accommodate a full five-room Multiplex cinema in the Equator shopping center in Rivne, it is necessary to increase GBA by 400 square meters. m. This will be done by transforming an idle ramp into a full-fledged rental area. Moreover, a sufficiently large number of communications requires transfer. This can only be achieved by jewelry work with energy supply systems of the existing shopping and entertainment center, since we must maintain the most comfortable conditions for working stores and our visitors, ”comments Equator Larisa Pervinenko, operating director of the shopping center network.
The Multiplex network said that thanks to these solutions, a much more modern facility will appear in Rivne instead of the small two-screen cinema that worked in the Era cinema center. It will operate five cinema halls with 700 seats, and its total area will be more than 2000 square meters. m. This in turn will expand the range of films and services for the viewer. At the same time, it is obvious that due to the large amount of work needed to house the cinema, the project will be very capital intensive.
Win-win solution
As a result of cooperation, Multiplex will receive a room that is optimally suited to its needs, and the Equator Mall - a strong anchor tenant that can significantly increase the flow of visitors.
“The culture of visiting cinemas in Ukraine is much more developed than other entertainment segments. Therefore, cinemas act as a powerful driver for increasing the flow of visitors to shopping centers. Given the existing project, after the opening of Multiplex, the Equator shopping center will completely close the issue with the entertainment component, receive the best movie theater in the region, and can count on traffic growth within 10-15%, ”says Alexander Fialka from RDA.
His forecasts are also confirmed in the management company of the shopping center Equator, according to which the opening of the cinema will increase the attendance of the shopping center by more than 1200-1500 people a day. “In percentage terms, this is about 10% of the total average daily attendance. Our forecasts are based on our experience with the Multiplex cinema in our other Equator shopping center in Poltava, ”says Larisa Pervinenko.
According to her, the opening of the cinema is scheduled for October this year. It is worth noting that these are not the only changes in the mall in the entertainment segment. So, in December last year, in the Rivne Equator there was a relocation and a conception of a children's room. As a result, all entertainment and children's-themed shops now work in one zone of the third stage of the shopping center, which gives the effect of synergy. In addition, in March, a quest room will start operating on the territory of the shopping and entertainment center.
Further improvements
Larisa Pervinenko also notes that other significant changes are planned in the network of the shopping center Equator this year. “The company's marketing department constantly conducts surveys of both visitors and tenants, which gives an understanding of which segments of the work need to be adjusted and strengthened. We work very clearly with the assortment matrix of goods and services presented in our mall. Especially in Rivne and Poltava, focusing on the target audience of each of the cities and monitoring quality migration trends, ”says Equator Network Top Manager.
Now the management company of the mall is negotiating with a number of new operators that are not yet represented in the regions where the network operates.
At the same time, the opening of some new stores and projects for the re-conception of existing operators have already been agreed.
So, in Rivne and Poltava, restyling of Melrose restaurants and updating of the food court are planned. In Rovno shopping and entertainment center it is also planned to open in a new location the children's store Miracle Island in a new format. In 2020, it is planned to open a number of stores in the Polish LPP group in other retail facilities of the company.
In particular, three large LPP retail facilities will open in the Equators of Chernivtsi, Berdyansk and Kharkov - each of them will occupy an area of more than 1,500 square meters. m. And in February in Poltava shopping center Equator it is planned to open another flagship LPP - Reserved store with an area of about 2400 square meters. m