PVR Inox opened its second luxury cinema property in Mumbai called ‘Maison Inox’ at the Jio World Plaza, a luxury shopping destination in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), on Thursday. The first such property was opened by the company earlier at Jio World Drive, another high-end mall at BKC. Alok Tandon, co-CEO, PVR Inox, throws light on the appetite for luxury cinemas among Indian consumers in an interaction with Viveat Susan Pinto. He also spoke about the consolidation and integration of PVR and Inox in his first interaction after the merger of the two companies this February. Excerpts:
How different are luxury cinemas from regular multiplexes and do you see an audience for this concept in India?
The cinema-going experience in India is evolving. While we are an under-screened nation, the cinema sector, at the same time, is also seeing the evolution of multiple formats. The two Maison cinemas in Mumbai, for instance, are boutique properties that take the cinema-going experience to the next level. There is everything – specially curated menus to an exclusive bar and lounge to a galleria with an IMAX screen, laser technology, video walls, among others. It is like walking into a five-star hotel. The pricing will reflect the ambience and experience that a cinema-goer will get at these properties. And to your point as to whether there is an audience for this concept, yes, there is.
How are you making sure that you identify the right catchment for these boutique properties?
We have to study the market carefully. In Mumbai, for instance, BKC has evolved into a premium shopping, food & leisure destination over the last few years apart from being a prime business district. It is also centrally located and the audience we were looking to target, namely, the well-heeled consumer is either working here or frequents this place for meetings, conferences, luncheons and summits. There are two high-end malls for their shopping needs. We take care of their entertainment needs.
While boutique cinemas sit at the top end of the market, how are you making sure that you percolate down to the last mile with your cinemas?
Screen expansion is something we take very seriously at PVR Inox. In the first half of this financial year alone, we opened 68 new screens. This number is part of the overall 160 new screens we plan to open this year. We already have a network of over 1,700 screens in 115 cities. This number will keep growing as we go forward.
How is the integration between Inox and PVR coming about?
The integration has been smooth. There are a few areas we focused on such as standardising operating procedures across the two brands; moving to common vendors; efficient manpower planning and renegotiation of contracts wherever needed. We have also standardised food & beverage options and stock-keeping units at our cinemas, introduced weekend offers and bestsellers. At the box-office level, we have optimised our programming strategy across theatres. We have also integrated the websites and applications of the two brands to ensure that it is seamless for consumers.
Your thoughts on the consolidation in the domestic media and entertainment sector? Some experts believe that consolidation does not aid a level-playing field. How would you respond to this?
We have always welcomed more players in the market. This will only aid the growth of the market. As I mentioned earlier, India is an under-screened market. Whoever works towards boosting screen count and making cinema accessible to a wider set of people, is helping the film exhibition sector to grow.