Background Information
As a leading commercial hub, Dubai is bulging with vast world-class business opportunities that have enabled it to become a major business attraction for both established and upcoming entrepreneurs in the world.
As a matter of fact, the UAE business centre provides vast business opportunities to both local and foreign investors planning to invest in the UAE region (Marchal 2005). As a result of its strong economical platform, the centre enjoys all the advantages that come with highly developed economies around the world.
The centre is also known for its well ordered business climate that offers entrepreneurs attractive environments to conduct their businesses.
Among other key developments, Dubai enjoys a sophisticated financial sector, modern telecommunications, first class hospitality facilities, highly developed transport and communication infrastructure, and reliable power utilities (Michael et al. 2011).
All these opportunities have continued to play a significant role in facilitating quality and efficiency business activities in the UAE region, thus making Dubai a pro-business environment. Based on these reasons, Dubai has emerged as a key business attraction for many investors planning to do business in the Middle East.
For the purpose of exposing the vast business opportunities that can be found in Dubai, this paper provides a business strategy guide for an organization that plans to establish a shopping mall in the region.
In this regard, I have been hired together with other four people to serve as strategic consultants for the company in its investment plan. Each one of us is expected to handle a specific component of the feasibility study and I am responsible for the kidsâ entertainment zone that will feature a Franchise Lego.
This paper will address four key elements of feasibility study in regard with my choice of brand. The four elements are brand analysis and choice, market analysis and segmentation, operating model, and performance measures.
Brand Analysis and Choice
As it would be observed, entertainment zones for both adults and children in malls are emerging as hotspots for many people across the world today (Keivani, Parsa & Younis 2003). These zones provide all sorts of entertainment to different categories of people visiting the malls for various reasons.
There is no doubt that children entertainment zones feed off the traffic in the shopping malls and vice versa, thus serving as key attraction for different types of consumers visiting the malls (El-Adly 2007). In this regard, indoor entertainment and gaming for young children act as crowd pullers for other businesses in the malls.
This clearly explains the reason why most mall developers have turned to entertainment zones currently. The idea of building malls with entertainment zones for young children has been taking place in many developed countries across the world, and Dubai has now embraced the trend in its development plans (Rashid 2007).
The business centre in the UAE has been placing considerable focus on indoor entertainment zones as a core requirement that should be integrated in their state-of-the-art architectural designs and plans (Rehman 2008).
As a matter of fact, mall developers in the region will rarely erect a modern business premise without including a one-stop entertainment and recreation zone for children. The brand chosen for this assignment is a Kidâs entertainment zone that will form part of the new shopping mall.
As a leading business hub in the world, Dubai offers a wide range of entertainment for all categories of people in the family, including children and toddlers (Hill & Jain 2007).
Business investors in Dubai understand the many benefits associated with leisure for kids, thus ensuring there are as many modern children entertainment zones as possible to cater for the needs of the young ones in the society.
As it would be observed, children in Dubai enjoy all kinds of indoor funfair from various places of interest in the region, with malls forming the largest part of the zones offering these services (Duane & Webb 2007).
Apart from fun, these entertainment zones also provide excellent and unique children educational activities to the participants in a more engaging manner, thus helping them to master important lessons that will see them through the initial developmental stages of life.
Entertainment and gaming for young children is gaining much popularity in Dubai nowadays, probably as a result of the many benefits associated with the trend.
As a matter of fact, this popularity has attracted the interest of many entrepreneurs planning to invest in the region, who have been setting up entertainment zones in malls and other strategic points of the city (Ong 2011).
The choice for the children entertainment centre is an indoor Franchise Lego land that would comprise of various kid activities. Here, toddlers will have access of all activities meant to amuse children of all ages.
Among the main areas that will make up the centre is an indoor soft play area where activities such as amusement riding, biking, and driving can take place. There will also a bowling alley and a video game arcade that would feature both motion-gaming and console-gaming.
The facility will also feature a Baby Gym nursery that will enable kids to enjoy maximum fitness from various play materials, a First Aid kid clinic to take care of minor injuries resulting from careless play, and a childrenâs bookstore from where the youngsters can practice reading.
All these gaming activities will provide children with a unique and fascinating learning experience in a number of ways (Grodal 2000). For example, this will enable the kids establish their individual as well as social identities that are essential for perfect child development.
Moreover, the activities will play a key role in enhancing the thought processes of the participants, thus stimulating their desire to experience and seek knowledge.
Market Analysis and Segmentation
We are living in a changing world, and it is therefore important for modern day investors to be familiar with all the aspects that would tend to influence the trends of consumers and competitors so as to maximize their business operations in the market.
As it would be observed, the gaming and entertainment industry is at its top stage currently, and this provides great business opportunities for the investors in the field.
Investment in the gaming and entertainment sector has become a norm for many developing and developed countries in the world, considering the vast economical benefits associated with the trend.
As a leading international business centre, Dubai has been making substantial efforts to match other developed regions of the world in providing business opportunities to the people in the industry by promoting the idea of children entertainment centres in malls (Saxena 2011).
Just like any other business, Franchise of childrenâs activity is fetching a lot of income for the investors taking place in the field within the UAEâs business centre.
The trend of gaming and entertainment for kids is gripping in Dubai as a result of the centreâs outstanding status as a global business hub as well as a pro-business environment that welcomes all kind of commercial activities.
Among other economic advantages, Dubai is at the centre of one of the richest regions of the world today (Darby, Jones & Al Madani 2003). In this regard, the region provides a unique value added platform for all types of businesses, including the ones specializing in gaming and entertainment for children.
Dubai is a busy business hub characterized with all sorts of economic activities that can be found in a global business hub (Vogel 2010). This will have the meaning that most people in the region are ever busy in their areas of accountability and this makes it hard for them to find extra moments for their young ones.
In this respect, children amusement zones in malls, high-street areas, and residential places serve as a convenient option for many parents in Dubai, who will opt to leave their young ones in the entertainment zones as they take care of other businesses.
For instance, parents can leave their young ones under the care of the staff in childrenâs play areas in malls as they go off to conduct their shopping without worrying about them.
This makes children entertainment centres in malls a better choice for many parents and guardians intending to stay free from the bother of their children as they attend to important business or personal missions in the malls.
As a broadly diversified economy that attracts players from allover the world, Dubai has enhanced its attractiveness in many ways, with entertainment and gaming facilities topping the list of the Cityâs priorities when it comes to matters regarding leisure (Noack 2007).
In this regard, the city provides a superior quality lifestyle with excellent entertainment and gaming opportunities for both children and adults. Most of these entertainment zones are situated in malls, where security for toddlers is guaranteed even when their parents or guardians are away.
More importantly, some children entertainment zones in Dubai also act as party centres, thus serving as key attractions for parents wishing to give their young ones a special treat during special moments.
Here, parents and guardians can celebrate their childrenâs special moments such as birthday or graduation ceremonies with party celebrations that are relevant to the occasion being marked.
Everything appears to have taken a different course as far as the gaming and entertainment for toddlers is concerned. This transformation, however, has come as a result of the current innovations and technologies that have played a key role in making next generation gaming accessible to all people across the world.
Being one of the most advanced regions in the world today, Dubai enjoys a wide range of user-friendly gaming and entertainment programs and activities that would appeal to children of all ages (Kaplan & Norton 2001).
Most of these entertainment and gaming programs are tailored to fit the needs of a franchise model, thus making children entertainment more substantial.
The nature of the gaming and entertainment programs is rapidly being modified using modern technologies to suit the playing needs of the current generation (Venaik, Midgley & Devinney 2005).
Parents and guardians in Dubai are keeping with the times and are doing everything to ensure that their children enjoy the latest brands in the entertainment industry.
In that case, the parents will tend to make frequent visits to children entertainment centres in malls to see if there are any latest arrivals that will amuse their children. This is a clear indication that there is a promising potential in this market segment in Dubai.
Market segmentation is very important, since it helps to determine the success of a business within a particular region (Acuto 2010). In this regard, the company should conduct a thorough analysis of the market in order to come up with an informed identification of the existing market needs as far as this type of business is concerned.
Even though it is impossible for the company to transfer the mall to a feasible location after it has being established, it will be easy for the management to establish effective marketing strategies that will enable the business to succeed. One way by which this objective can be attained is through effective market segmentation.
Competitors are just allover in the region, and they will tend to impact the way the company performs. However, through a thorough market segmentation analysis, the company will manage to do things in a different manner, thus beating the obstacle of competitors in the market.
On the same note, the company can go for those gaming programs and equipment that are not very common in the local market as a way of differentiating itself from the competitors. More importantly, the organization can make use of incentives such as discounts and bonuses to attract and retain more customers.
Operating Model
The model of operation for the business is very important for it will play a crucial role in determining the end goal.
In most cases, children entertainment centres tend to operate within certain guidelines depending on a number of determinants that include things such as the age of the children being served and their playing needs, among other key aspects. Following is a plan of the operating model for the Franchise Lego land.
Opening Time and Hours of Operation
Like all other businesses in the mall, the gaming and entertainment centre should be opened in the mornings and operate through the normal hours of the day. However, this may change on the weekends and during public holidays to fit the requirements of the company or the people in charge of the entertainment business.
Cost of Services
As it is the case with most entertainment and gaming zones, charges in the Franchise Lego land should be variable depending on the type of gaming or entertainment services offered and the average amount of time spend per visit.
Additional services offered on top of the normal gaming and entertainment services could also apply in determining the cost of services in the centre. Examples of additional services may include things such as recreational services, birthday parties, and special treatment for kids.
Charges may also vary depending on the nature of the services offered. For example, supervised children engagement in the centre whereby the kids are accompanied by their parents or guardians will not cost the same as unsupervised engagements where a staff aligned to the centre is given the responsibility to take care of the children.
Obviously, charges for the latter should be a bit higher compared to the ones in those scenarios where children play under the watch of their parents or guardians.
More importantly, the children entertainment centre should operate on both peak and off-peak costs based on the days of operation. There is no doubt that the business will tend to attract varied numbers of customers on different times.
For instance, while the number of children visiting the centre may remain constant during weekdays, it is likely to go up on weekends and during public holidays when most parents are free to take their children out for leisure.
As it would be observed, the price of commodities and services in the market depends on a number of variables (Mellahi, Demirbag & Riddle 2011). For example, the price for both commodities and services are likely to rise when demand increases and fall when the demand falls.
On the same note, the cost of charges for different gaming programs in the entertainment centre should be a bit higher on weekends and during public holidays when the number of visitors is high, compared to the weekdays when the number is down.
Performance Measures
The children entertainment centre should adopt various performance measures that would enable it survive in todayâs competitive business environment. There is no doubt that every business in todayâs business world is focused on utilizing all available resources to stay ahead of competitors in the market.
While offering excellent services to customers is likely to offer a strong competitive advantage to the gaming and entertainment business, doing things in a different manner will steer the business to greater heights in the market.
This objective can be attained through the provision of gaming concepts that appeal most to children during this era of modern technological advancements.
More importantly, the provision of a wide array of customizable entertainment experiences that comprise of friendly and intuitive playing options will play a crucial role in enhancing the performance of the business (Voelpel, Leibold & Tekie 2004).
Another way through which the business can operate differently and stabilize itself in the market is by offering its entertainment services for children at a lowered cost. This objective can be achieved by offering gaming services at a cost slightly lower than the ones provided by competitors in the market.
There are various approaches that can be used to measure the performance of businesses to determine whether they are making a progress in the market (Kochan et al. 2003).
For instance, the management of the children entertainment centre can apply the observation method to read the facial expressions of the customers and try to determine their perceptions about the services they have received. This approach can also be used to assess peopleâs satisfaction based on how frequent they visit the centre.
The business can also supply customers and clients with survey templates which they can fill up and return to the company expressing their views about the services their children have received from the entertainment centre.
Brief oral interviews can also be carried out randomly on parents to determine their views and suggestions on the services provided. All these interventions will play a significant role in helping the business achieve great success in the UAE business centre.
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