It is an indisputable fact that the potential for growth in the Asian market is huge. Six Flags naturally will not give up this opportunity for expansion. John Duffy (CEO of Six Flags) believes that with the help of Six Flags' brand advantage in international theme parks, they will have More opportunities to work with like-minded companies to develop theme parks outside of North America, especially in the Asian market.
For example, for China alone, Six Flags plans to establish a number of theme parks in cooperation with Shanshui Wenyuan in the next 10 years.
What is the potential for growth in the Asian market?
John Duffy believes that international development is an important growth opportunity for Six Flags. China has a very large theme park market and is fully capable of hosting multiple Six Flags. Dubai is an emerging leisure and entertainment destination with incredible development potential in theme parks, as well as in Vietnam. All these markets have a large population, and per capita disposable income continues to grow, and the most important thing is that there is no product like Six Flags.
The general service level of tourist attractions in Asia is low, and in stark contrast to this is the ever-increasing demand for middle-class disposable income and tourism experience. According to statistics, at present, 700 million people in China can afford to pay for a theme park tour. By 2020, this figure will increase to 1 billion. With the implementation of the two-child policy, it can be expected that future theme park industry tourists will Both the amount and the consumption in the park will increase.
However, currently, there are more than 60 theme parks under construction in China, including Disney and Universal Studios. China has a population of 1.4 billion, and it has built around 850. Most of them are local theme parks with relatively low quality. The most popular TOP25 theme parks in China have only two or three Chinese mainland. .
Why can Six Flags expand globally?
In the eyes of Duffy, the Chinese market is far from being saturated. In a psychological study of domestic consumers by Six Flags Corporation, they found that Chinese tourists liked stimulating projects, especially record-breaking mechanical amusement equipment. . As a profitable regional theme park, Six Flags has successfully operated 18 theme parks in North America, receiving about 28 million people each year. The success of Six Flags in the United States has also begun to attract the attention of overseas investors.
Six Flags has slowly developed from a regional theme park into a global brand. Six Flags is committed to expanding theme parks around the world and providing attractive and exciting amusement equipment, record-breaking roller coasters, and family-friendly amusement equipment. Water amusement equipment as well as music and shows. However, John Duffy does not think that they are simply replicating the theme parks around the world. Six Flags has a unique operating model. In the process of internationalization, it will also be custom developed according to regional differences. , food to retail goods will fully reflect the regional culture and characteristics.
In 2009, Six Flags delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, which caused a great blow to Six Flags. Six Flags began to sell its assets in Europe and part of the United States local paradise, but still unable to pay off the debt of 2.4 billion US dollars owed. It can be said that during the first decade of the 21st century, the development of the Six Flags was more difficult. It was not until 2010 when the former CEO Jim Reid Anderson took office that everything began to turn for the better. The Six Flags franchise chain expansion model also began from that time. Jim's strategy is very significant. Without a simple, rough ticket discount promotion strategy, Six Flags' business revenue began to increase at an annual rate of 9%.
When Jim Reid Anderson was in charge of the Six Flags, John Duffy, as the right-hand man of Jim, had been serving as the CFO of Six Flags since 2010 and did not formally take over the management of Six Flags' affairs until February of this year. Before that, they had been working for Dorling in the United States and had successfully turned the company into a profit, eventually selling the company to Siemens at a price of US$7 billion in 2006. In the past six years, John Duffy has cumulatively created up to $2 billion in returns for Six Flags shareholders.
John Duffy said that six-flag companies have continued to grow for six years, and the outbreak trend has become more apparent. In the past 24 quarters, the growth rate of Six Flags has been a record-breaking, and the satisfaction of tourists has also reached The best level of history.
John Duffy believes that they are confident that they will continue to provide world-class services and the best amusement device experience in Six Flags World.
2016 will be the most exciting year for Six Flags. The first VR roller coaster in the United States will be expanded to 9 Six Flags; the Super Hero Team Justice League (City Warfare Project) in DC Comics will come to Six Flags Great America and Mexico Six Flags; a fireball The new seven-layer circulating roller coaster will debut at Six Flags in New England and St. Louis. It is said to be very exciting; the United States Six Flags Park is preparing to increase Splash Falls, an interactive water playground; Six Flags Georgia will be introduced into the world. The first children's theme centered on the Super Friends in DC Comics.
“Strategic innovation is an important factor in the success of Six Flags. Six Flags has been thinking about how to enhance the experience of tourists through innovative play equipment, tourist attractions and services. Six Flags Park is adding new content every year, and has spared no effort in marketing. For example, the quarter card introduced by Six Flags has greatly promoted the growth of tourists,†said John Duffy.
Where does a good service and experience come from?
Unlike Disneyland, Six Flags is mostly a regional theme park. This type of theme park is very much dependent on repeat customers, so it is very important to provide season cards that can attract tourists at the right prices. How to let visitors feel the value of these season cards products? Six Flags Park has spent a lot of energy. Trained employees on sales techniques.
It is understood that the proportion of visitors to the Six Flags Club membership card accounted for about 24%, and the newly launched all-season catering card also sold well. Six Flags Park has also invested in the "Terrorist Holidays" event, so even a second-time visitor can feel a lot of novelties here.
The reason why Six Flags Park has been able to turn losses into profits and achieve success is, in the eyes of John Duffy, all this is the result of teamwork. Without their dedication, there can be no Six Flags today. In order to enable employees to work happily, Six Flags set up a lot of employee benefits to reward those hard-working employees, which greatly encouraged team morale.
In the United States, Six Flags has covered the 10 most populous regional markets. However, John Duffy did not choose to continue to build more Six Flags theme parks in the United States. On the contrary, in the United States, Six Flags continues to plough the existing theme parks. In foreign countries, Six Flags and its partners are constantly If we can continue to innovate and focus on visitor experience and employee satisfaction, Six Flags will be able to occupy a new market as if it were in the local market. Its trip to Asia will be a great adventure worthwhile.