SRK-backed KidZania lines up $50 m for theme parks in key cities

Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan-backed Imagination Edutainment India, the company that owns and operates children-focused indoor theme parks KidZania, is planning to spend $50 million over the next 5-10 years to launch five new theme parks in cities like Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai, a top company official said.

The company currently operates two KidZania branded theme parks in Mumbai and Delhi spread across 70,000 sq ft and 95,000 sq ft, respectively. The two centres used to draw an annual footfall of 400,000 persons prior to the pandemic, which has dropped to 300,000 post the pandemic.

"We are expecting about $50 million of investment to launch the five new centres," said Paras Chandaria, founder and promoter, KidZania India, adding that the company is open to working with strategic partners to realise its ambitious expansion plans in the country.

Chandaria's Kidz Inc Pte owns a 74% stake in Imagination Edutainment while Khan holds the remaining 26%. The company is also contemplating launching new centres in Mumbai and Delhi that would be smaller in size at 50,000 to 60,000 sq ft.

"We are on the lookout for the right partners and if they add some value, then we're very open to considering it. For example, if they can help us get locations in five cities, then it's a no-brainer," he added.

In fact, the company was very close to setting up its third KidZania centre in Bengaluru prior to Covid-19. However, the landlord's decision to change in plan post-Covid meant that the company had to look for an alternative location to set up an indoor theme park. Once the company finalises a location, it takes 18 to 24 months to fit out a kid's area.

"We're in touch with many of the premier landlords and mall owners. We're looking for locations right now in Bengaluru. After Bengaluru, our plan is to look at Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai," Chandaria added.

KidZania, which has three revenue streams: ticketing, brand partnerships, and F&B, had an annual revenue of $10 million pre-Covid. However, the pandemic had taken a toll on the company's revenue as footfalls saw a sharp reduction and many of the brand partners backed out.

Sanjeev Kumar, KidZania India's chairman of the Advisory Board, said that the company will hit $10 million in revenue over FY24 and FY25 as footfalls grow and the company inks partnerships with new brands.

"We expect footfalls to come back to pre-Covid numbers. Our increase in brand partnerships will take us approximately two years to really come back to those numbers," he added.

KidZania president and CEO Xavier Lopez Ancona said the Indian market is extremely important for the company due to its huge population. KidZania, which has 29 centres globally, gets almost 7.5% of its global footfalls from India. "We're going to hit 100 million visitors in September, and of that, 7.3 million will come from KidZania in India," Ancona added.

Imagination Edutainment has a multi-year franchisee partnership with KidZania.