For some time now we’ve been waiting to see Reading Cinemas’ expansion into the Auckland cinema market, as part of New Lynn’ redeveloped LynnMall complex. With the opening of the cinema complex just around the corner, and news of ten dollar tickets getting Aucklanders excited, we asked Reading for a rundown of what LynnMall Cinema Complex has to offer.
Wayne Smith, Managing Director Australia & New Zealand, was kind enough to answer our questions about the brand new site. The full media release from Reading Entertainment follows, with further information about the complex.
FLICKS: How long has this Auckland opening been on the cards for?
WAYNE SMITH: I should open by saying that New Zealand, as a whole, is a mature market therefore new cinema opportunities are very limited. New Zealand also sits within top 10 most heavily screened countries in the world. Therefore, achieving any new cinema development is a big challenge. In terms of LynnMall Shopping Centre we’ve been working on that project for well in excess of 5 years. The redevelopment and cinema only became a strong reality once Kiwi Income Property Trust acquired the shopping centre back in 2010. From that point onwards it was a lot of hard work, determination, and, of course, a large monetary investment by all that brought the cinema and Brickworks restaurant precinct to life.
With Auckland largely dominated by two existing chains, what can moviegoers expect that’s different – and how will you go about getting the numbers you need?
We arrive at our point of difference by putting ourselves in the shoes of the customer, then we overlay a clearly thought out business plan. It will be very obvious to all that Reading’s LynnMall cinema has a style or aesthetic personality which is unique to our company; luxury comfort with the extra wide body seating and more legroom; premium dine-in cinemas; a ticket price ‘value proposition’ that’s very compelling. Technically our cinemas are world class with wall-to-wall screens and the latest sound and visual digital quality like, for example, Dolby ATMOS in our TITAN extreme cinema. Overall we target an improved quality towards the customer’s entertainment experience which means, we place the customer first … that’s how we get the numbers we need.
One strategy that we’ve seen already are Reading’s low ticket prices. This is in line with the results of our nationwide cinema census earlier this year. Why can you offer films at these prices that are seldom seen elsewhere?
Your survey is right on the money and it highlights that piracy, which is theft of a commodity that some else owns, remains the industry’s biggest issue. In terms of pricing, the two major chains have tickets on offer at a similar price which points towards a generalisation that individual markets take each cinema exhibitor toward a price point that they judge as being suitable. We are adopting Reading’s global strategy but at the same time also employing a localised overlay for each cinema location.
Are distributors happy with the pricing initiative?
You could ask … are all the independent exhibitors, which include Reading, happy that they couldn’t share with the two major chains in the exclusive preview screenings of the new Bond film last night? The answer to both is, you don’t always get what you want. The distributors, like ourselves, focus upon maximising returns. My view is that Reading deliver 110% upon that aspect.
Do you expect to start a price war in the Auckland market?
Competition is healthy, we are focused upon getting on with the job.
What special features or specs do the new cinemas offer?
As noted above we have better, wider and more comfortable seating which is the first noticeable difference. Our two special offers are; a ‘TITAN’ Extreme Cinema with a massive 3 story high screen and the totally immersive or 3D Dolby ATMOS sound; and premium dine-in cinemas where you can have an meal and drink plus catch a movie at a very affordable price.
Do you have a sense of how the demographics of New Lynn have changed since there was a cinema there last?
People have come up to me and talked about the 2001 era when the previous cinema closed and they are still angry, but time moves on and clearly a lot has changed since then. From our point of view, with the terrific support of Kiwi Property, it’s opened up an opportunity for Reading to bring the cinema back to New Lynn. We’ve had enough confidence to invest millions of dollars in backing our decision. Cities and demographics do change that’s why we have good thoughts that the redeveloped LynnMall Shopping Centre and our cinema will have a very bright future.
Are your neighbours a good fit for a new cinema?
Absolutely, Kiwi Property have created an entertainment precinct and a restaurant mix with tastes from around the world, it’s a dinning destination to rival the best. My personal view is that it’s going to be a great success and on our part we will make every effort to ensure that’s the outcome.
What sort of catchment area do you expect to serve from this location? I’m taking the train from the central city for the cinema opening.
Every shopping centre has its own established catchment based upon location, convenience, what’s on offer etc. although LynnMall’s 2015 broadened appeal will, in my opinion, reach out much further than that before. Whatever the case, we’ll do our best to make Reading Cinemas LynnMall the customer’s first choice.
Here’s the media release in full, with plenty of info on the new site:
Los Angeles, California: November 8, 2015 – Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDI) today announced it will open the state-of-the-art LynnMall Cinema Complex, its first Auckland cinema complex, in New Lynn, New Zealand on November 26, 2015. The new state-of-the-art cinema complex will bring Reading’s premium offerings to the newly redeveloped LynnMall Shopping Centre, providing a compelling and convenient movie experience for the Centre’s guests. Situated in the soon to be popular ‘Brickworks’ dining and entertainment precinct of the LynnMall Shopping Centre, Reading Cinemas LynnMall will be Auckland’s newest and most modern eight screen cinema complex.
Ellen Cotter, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Reading International, said, “We have continued to make great progress in executing our strategic plan, both in the New Zealand market and across our cinema, live theatre and real estate portfolios. Since entering the New Zealand cinema market in 1995, Reading International has established a sizeable real estate portfolio and grown its cinema enterprise to own and operate nine cinema locations with 54 screens, generating more than $30 million NZD in total revenue and averaging approximately 2.0 million customers on an annual basis.”
Reading’s LynnMall Cinema Complex will offer the best comfort, space and world-class digital film presentation. This includes the Company’s newly formatted TITAN XC Extreme Cinema, a 20 metre wide ‘wall-to-wall’ screen, that will also incorporate Dolby Atmos, a fully immersive 3D sound system that is being embraced by leading exhibitors and filmmakers worldwide as the next-generation sound in the cinema. To further enhance its position as a leading entertainment destination, Reading will offer two luxury dine-in licensed “Premium Cinema” screens, with a full food and beverage menu to provide the best movie going experience for customers.
“Reading LynnMall will be the preferred location in the Auckland market for moviegoers, offering the highest level of comfort and cutting edge technology,” said Wayne Smith, Managing Director of Reading Entertainment. “With the installation of Dolby Atmos and our new TITAN XC concept at LynnMall, we are continuing to execute on Reading’s strategy of leveraging innovative, state-of-the-art technology to provide unmatched experiences for our customers. We are committed to delivering the highest level of service and value to our customers, and are proud to extend our offerings as part of the upgrades and renovations to the historic LynnMall Centre.”
The LynnMall Cinema Complex will feature:
Five traditional cinema screens with wide body seating;
An affordable luxury ‘dine-in’ cinema experience that combines the elegance of a fully licensed lounge bar and full food menu with a selection of delicious options;
Signature wall-to-wall screens with state-of-the-art sound equipment that provides an unmatched cinematic experience for customers;
Luxury reclining armchairs for the ultimate in comfort; and
Value, consumer friendly ticket prices and unlimited free parking.
Check out the Reading Cinemas LynnMall Facebook page for more information ahead of opening, and, of course, hit up the cinema page here on Flicks for session times.
