|
|
 | Focus |  |
INTERVIEW
PHILIPPE PICHON, GREVIN & CIE
|
"TO BECOME THE EUROPEAN LEADER IN LEISURE PARKS"
Grevin & Co. has been pursuing an external growth strategy since 1998 when it acquired the Grand Aquarium de Saint Malo. Philippe Pichon, chief of research and acquisitions talks about the company strategy.
Infoparks: Since 1998, Grevin & Co.'s acquisitions reveal an ambitious strategy...
Philippe Pichon: Our goal is clear: to become the European leader in recreational sites geared towards families, ahead of the two Spanish groups Parces Reunidos and Aspro Ocio and the British group Tussauds. When I talk about parks for "families" it is in order to make a distinction between us and parks like Six Flags, for example, which target mainly teenagers. There are four types of parks we are looking at: amusement parks for all ages, zoos, aquatic parks, and what I call "tourist products" such as Grévin or France-Miniature.
Why is your strategy focused on external growth?
Creating amusement parks today requires so much capital that it is difficult for private operators to remain afloat without financing from the public sector. That is why we are not too keen on such a strategy. The reason we signed a contract as a public service last year for the planning, construction and use of Bioscope in Alsace (it will open in 2005, look at "Projects" ) is because half of the financing (31 million euros) came from regional communities.
In general, however, we prefer acquiring parks that already exist. Especially since the French and European market for parks is so dispersed and full of "little gold mines".
How does Grevin & Co. define "little gold mines"?
The site has to be one of quality, with a strong character of its own. Financially speaking, the park has to make at least 5 or 6 million euros a year. We also take into consideration other factors: it should either be in a customer catchment area or else in one frequented by tourists-or better yet-in an area that combines both, as is the case with the Asterix Park. There are also more sophisticated ways of analysing the situation. For example, we make a distinction between active entertainment (such as amusement parks) and passive entertainment (such as aquariums or wax museums). We also take into account that in zones where there are potentially many customers but that are not zones frequented by tourists; a "passive" site is not enough. Currently, there are still about a dozen "little gold mines" to be found in France. If you want an example, the Palmyre Zoo close to Royan matches our definition of a "little gold mine".
Grévin & Co. aspirations go beyond France...
The acquisition of Dolphinarium Hardewijk in 2001 marked the internationalisation of the group. It is a marine zoo situated around fifty kilometres from Amsterdam that welcomes close to a million visitors as well as those coming from Avontuenpark Hellomdoorn, another Dutch park that attracts 400,000 visitors.
Fort Run is our latest purchase. It is the tenth park whose management we've taken over; it is a kind of German Bagatelle located 1h30 from Dortmund. We intend to create a geographical balance by making more acquisitions in southern Europe.
Are you taking a break in 2002 after the internationalisation in 2001?
Far from it: besides Fort Fun in Germany, we acquired two new French parks this year after the break-up of the Durand-Allizé group: Parc de Mini-Châteaux and l'Aquarium du Val de Loire (formerly Aquarium de Touraine). On top of that, we are studying the possibility of a dozen more acquisitions in France as well as abroad. We are now looking at profits of 107 million euros at the end of the year compared to 98 million in 2001. The difference is due as much to the hike in prices and increased attendance as it is to the new acquisitions. With regards to the Asterix Park, it does seem to be holding up to the competition from Walt Disney Studios. We are, however, also looking at the possibility of establishing an aquatic park nearby in the coming years. In 2001 the park received 1.8 million visitors and we will be full to capacity with 600, 000 more.
What is the advantage to Grévin & Co. of acquiring all these parks?
Other than a certain synergy due primarily to the centralisation of certain purchases, the goal is to create a sort of federation of parks either based on different categories of parks (a network of zoos, aquatic parks etc...) or along geographic lines. But the real plus for Grévin & Co. is a savoir-faire in terms of running and managing the parks. Indeed, the families from whom we purchased the sites have up to now been very pleased with what we have done.
|
04/30/2002 |
Back
|
|
|
|
