Middle East Family/Indoor Entertainment Centers (FEC) Market: Key Factor Analysis

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled,"Middle East Family/Indoor Entertainment Centers (FEC) Market: Key Factor Analysis,” the Middle East Family/Indoor entertainment centers (FEC) market is expected to grow with significant growth rate and present strong opportunities for FEC developers and operators in the region.

Family/indoor entertainment centers (FECs) are small amusement parks or entertainment zones that typically serve local communities in big and small cities. FEC’s are designed to keep the entire family engaged, generally at a significantly less per-person cost than a traditional amusement park. Middle East Family/Indoor entertainment centers (FEC) market report provides the key factors affecting the market in current market scenario. The study provides comprehensive definitions for Children’s Entertainment Centers (CECS) and Children’s Edutainment Centers (CEDCS) inclusive of all the activities being provided in the respective facilities. Some of the major activities involved in Children’s Entertainment Centers include gaming consoles, arcades, video games, redemption machines, small kid’s rides, and trampo junior. Further, some of the major events in Children’s Edutainment Centers (CEDCS) involves arts and crafts studio, baby yoga, blocks station, blue blocks games, and clay modelling.

The potential developers and operator analysis provide long list of probable FEC developers expected to enter the Middle East region along with their current operating locations. These developers and operators have very little to no presence in the Middle East region but adopting various strategies to expand the presence in the region. Some of the major FEC operators and developers that are expected to expand in Middle East region includes Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc., Chuck E. Cheese's (CEC) Entertainment, Inc., Smaaash Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and CAVU Designwerks Inc. For example, one of the leading U.S. based family entertainment provider Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is expanding internationally in the Middle East region. The company signed a master development franchise-based agreement with Apparel Group FCZO in October 2015. The agreement gives exclusive rights to Apparel Group to develop the Dave & Buster's brand FECs in the six country in the region including Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia over the period of seven years.

The comparative analysis of total addressable population and serviceable population for 2018 has also been provided. The Total addressable population (TAP) is the population a business can possibly reach irrespective of its ability to reach them. To estimate the Total Addressable Population, we have considered the total population of the region excluding the people under age 3 and above 65. Also, while estimating the TAP, we have considered various factors such as unemployment rate, and economic stability of the country. For example, there are severe geopolitical turmoil going on in countries such as Syria and Turkey, thereby population of these countries have been excluded from the above calculations. The Serviceable Population provided is the actual population being served by Family Entertainment Centers for 2018. The total addressable population as well as serviceable population for the year 2018 have also been break down by the FEC facility size. The considered FEC facility size includes up to 5,000 sq. ft., 5,001 to 10,000 sq. ft., 10,001 to 20,000 sq. ft., 20,001 to 40,000 sq. ft., 1 to 10 acres, 10 to 30 acres, and over 30 acres. The visiting frequency of serviceable population has been provided for Children’s Entertainment Centers (CECS) and Children’s Edutainment Centers (CEDCS) for various social classes. The serviceable population has been divided into social class A, class B, class C, class D, and class E as per their monthly incomes.

In comparative analysis, the average ticket price, average EBITDA margin range, average construction cost/SQM and average spending by social classes have been provided for both children’s entertainment centers (CECs) and children’s edutainment centers (CEDCs). As per AMR analysis, the average ticket price for children’s entertainment centers lies between SAR 76 to SAR 84 (USD 20.27 to USD 22.40)  in the Middle East region. The construction cost comparative analysis provides the average construction cost incurred to developers to build FEC in malls as well as standalone. The average construction period has been provided for various FEC facility size operating in the Middle East region.

Key Findings of the Middle East Family/Indoor Entertainment Centers (FEC) Market:

• Majority of the U.S. based FEC developers and operators are expanding their presence in the Middle East region.
• The serviceable population, along with visiting frequency of the population in expected to grow in Middle East FEC market.
• The average construction period, which is 1 month to 4 months for FEC facility size Up to 5,000 sq. ft. increases significantly with the growth in facility size.