TEEG India, which operates Timezone and Play ’N’ Learn, plans 10–12 new centres annually across a 50-city pipeline, with smaller cities emerging as the next growth market
TEEG India plans to invest Rs 120–150 crore annually to expand its Timezone and Play ’N’ Learn family entertainment business, targeting 10–12 new stores a year as it takes the format deeper into tier 1 and 2 cities. Demand for shared experiences among younger consumers, including Gen Z, creates new opportunities for family entertainment centres ( FEC) beyond shopping and cinemas.
In an Interview with BW Retail World, Abbas Jabalpurwala, CEO, TEEG India said that the company has identified around 50 cities for expansion, providing a pipeline for the next three to four years at its planned pace. The investment estimate is based on an average store size of about 10,000 sq ft and relates to store-level capital expenditure. Technology and network-level investments, including the company’s mobile application, are treated separately as ongoing business expenditure.
The company is seeing consumers increasingly use entertainment venues as places to spend time together, coming in groups now and enjoying activities like bowling, arcade games for winning gifts for others, where family entertainment centres are becoming part of how malls and other properties seek to attract visitors.
“If I have to look at 12 stores every year and an average of 10,000 we are talking about 120 to 150 crores of investment that keeps going into the business,” Jabalpurwala said.
The size of individual centres varies according to the property. TEEG’s preferred format is around 9,000–12,000 sq ft, although some centres are significantly larger where mall requirements support a broader offering.
TEEG India’s India operation has around 2,000 employees across its warehouse, support office and staffing functions, which look after the operation of both Timezone and Play ’N’ Learn in the country, curently they have opened operations at around 94 venues.
Tier 2 Cities Are The Next Growth Bet
The expansion is moving beyond major urban markets, with Timezone recently opening a centre in Amravati, Maharashtra, where the company has received a strong response. It has signed a project in Varanasi, where the mall is expected to come up in about two years, and is in discussions for projects in Kolhapur and Prayagraj.
He expects the shift towards smaller cities to take eight to 10 years, by which time tier 2 cities could account for more square footage than tier 1 cities across the company’s network. Jabalpurwala said 60 per cent of TEEG India’s revenue comes from metros and tier 1, while tier-2 cities together account for 40 per cent across Timezone and Play ‘N’ Learn.
“Every consumer irrespective of where he is staying whether he is in a metro, non-metro, tier 1, tier 2 knows what entertainment is, what bowling is, what arcade is, how do you make tickets, how do you win prizes, they figure out hacks on the internet,” Jabalpurwala said adding how consumers in these markets are also increasingly aware of entertainment formats available elsewhere.
Digitalisation has also widened consumer awareness of entertainment formats outside their home markets. Jabalpurwala cited Timezone’s experience in Nashik, where bowling had been introduced around 10–12 years ago but was later removed after failing to perform. The company reconsidered the format after the pandemic as consumers became more familiar with entertainment offerings in metro cities and international markets through social media.
Jabalpurwala said cities with populations of more than 5–6 lakh can support organised entertainment as highways and mall infrastructure improve. He also cited reverse migration, work-from-home opportunities and the growth of start-ups in smaller cities as factors supporting demand.
Malls Rework Footfall Strategy Around Experiences
The expansion comes as mall developers increasingly use entertainment to drive engagement beyond shopping and cinema. “Customers are not coming to the mall to buy things but they are coming to do things. I would rather put it that way,” Jabalpurwala said.
According to him, family entertainment centres have emerged as one of the stronger footfall drivers for malls over the past five to six years. Developers are consequently allocating larger spaces to FECs and paying greater attention to the operators occupying them.
“More than anything else people are looking at shared memories,” Jabalpurwala said.
One developer told Jabalpurwala that malls were putting more effort into finding the right entertainment operator than the right cinema operator. Cinemas remain an important footfall driver, but he said they depend on around eight to 10 blockbuster films a year. Developers are consequently looking at multiple formats, including FECs and trampoline parks, to attract different age groups.
The demand for larger entertainment spaces is also visible in Timezone’s expansion. Jabalpurwala said one developer increased ceiling heights to meet the company’s requirements, while another converted cinema screens into a 15,000 sq ft FEC after a planned 5,000 sq ft space was considered inadequate.
He also said all the company’s stores are profitable from day one, although trading density varies depending on the mall and its footfall. TEEG India does not disclose revenue as it is privately held.
TEEG also operates PlayN, which is designed for younger children through activities focused on learning and skill development. The format is often located next to Timezone so parents with children of different ages can use both venues. Two upcoming venues will have PlayN sharing space with Timezone.
TEEG Sees More Headroom For Timezone Before Kingpin
Birthday parties and corporate events provide another use case for the centres, where a typical store hosts around 15–18 birthday parties, mostly on weekends, while packages are offered across three tiers.
Jabalpurwala said the objective is to become part of occasions when families and friends want to spend time together, rather than treat the party business simply as another revenue stream.
The company is also holding back on introducing its Kingpin brand in India while it pursues the existing Timezone opportunity. Kingpin operates in Australia and New Zealand and has a stronger nightlife proposition, including a full-fledged bar, while Timezone is positioned towards families, children and teenagers.
“At this point of time in the short run we want to focus on Timezone,” Jabalpurwala said.
At the planned pace of 10–12 stores a year, the company expects its identified Timezone pipeline to provide enough room for the next three to four years before it considers adding another brand.
TEEG is jointly owned by LAI Group, led by the Steinberg family, and Quadrant Private Equity, which acquired a 50 per cent stake in the Timezone business in 2017. The group operates more than 300 centres across Asia-Pacific under brands including Timezone, Zone Bowling, Kingpin and Play ’N’ Learn.
