Viveat Susan Pinto
Marketing

Multiplex space in Mumbai gets hotter with INOX' entry

The company, which has multiplexes in Pune, Baroda and Kolkata, will launch its first property in Mumbai on November 12

The city of Mumbai will witness some hectic activity in the multiplex space this month with the launch of two properties by new entrant INOX Leisure and local player Shringar Cinemas, respectively.

INOX will open its first property to the public in the business district of Nariman Point in South Mumbai on November 12, while Shringar, which operates under the brand name Fame, is set to launch its third property in the suburb of Khandivali by the third week of this month.

When most multiplex operators, barring IMAX Adlabs and R-Adlabs (which are located in the central areas of Wadala and Mulund), have opted to stick to the western suburbs located towards the north of the city, INOX will be the first to set up base in south Mumbai.

Housed in a mall called Crossroads, the multiplex has five screens and has a total capacity of 1,335 seats. Tickets will be priced between Rs 100-200, and movies to be showcased in the opening week include Yash Chopra's Veer Zaara, Abbas-Mustan's Aitraaz, K Asif's classic Mughal-e-Azam (now in colour), English movie Garfield and Marathi film Shwaas, which is India's entry in the foreign film category for next year's Oscar awards.

To promote the property, the company has set aside a budget of Rs one crore, which will be primarily utilized for print advertising. "This will include brand campaigns as well as spot ads for promotions, contests etc," says Shishir Baijal, CEO, INOX Leisure Limited.

INOX has plans to launch two more properties in the city, though Baijal refuses to comment about it at this point. The Mumbai launch, incidentally, will coincide with the launch of its property at Panaji in Goa.

The company was given the mandate to build a state-of-the-art multiplex in Panaji, post a nationwide tender that was floated by the Goa government. This multiplex has a special significance because it will be the permanent venue for the International Film Festival, held annually in the country.

Apart from existing multiplexes in Pune, Baroda and Kolkata (it has two properties in Kolkata and one each in Pune and Baroda), and of course, now in Mumbai and Goa, the company will soon roll out properties in Noida (part of the National Capital Region around Delhi), Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Allahabad over the next year. "The Noida property will be launched by the end of 2004, while Bangalore will come up by January 2005 and Chennai and Hyderabad will follow in the latter half of next year," says Baijal.

The company is looking forward to achieve a turnover of around Rs 140-150 crore by 2006-end as against a likely revenue of over Rs 60 crore by 2005-end.

© 2004 agencyfaqs!

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