At a time when malls
and downtowns across the country are facing hundreds of store closings,
property owners are looking to fill their spaces with more diverse tenants, everything from urgent-care centers to climbing gyms. Increasingly, experiential
retail or entertainment concepts are filling up square footage vacated by
department stores and have the added bonus of being immune to e-commerce.
One example of
this approach is KidZania, an experiential learning center that teaches children ages
4 to 14 through role-playing. With the first US location set to open in
Dallas next year and Chicago in 2019, the company is seeking to expand in across the country.
Each KidZania is a highly
detailed world of let's pretend set in a mini-city (complete with buildings,
paved roads, and even vehicles) that allows children to role-play in more than
100 occupations and professions, such as doctor, reporter or truck driver. While
performing tasks children
earn KidZos (KidZania's currency) and the money is kept in the KidZania bank
for children to spend at the gift shop and on KidZania's activities.
To make the experience as authentic as possible, companies sponsor local
landmarks and businesses. Kids may fly a British Airways plane, for example, or
operate an H&M store.
Price Point: A session typically costs from $30 to $50 per child,
depending on the location. Parents can drop off their children
for a session, which lasts about four to five hours, or they can stay to watch
from a deck that looks over the scene.
Target Market:
Families with children ages 4 to 14 years old
History and Expansion Plans: KidZania was
founded in 1999 in Santa Fe, a suburb of Mexico City. The company now operates in 24
locations around the world, including London, Dubai, Tokyo and Bangkok, with each
location receiving about a half million visitors a year.
In the US, KidZania
USA is owned and operated by a partnership led by E2W. The first locations in
the country will go into Dallas’s Stonebriar Centre in 2018 and Chicago’s
Oakbrook Center in 2019. The Dallas location will be built from the ground up,
while the one in Chicago will occupy the upper level of an existing Sears
store. The company expects to roll out 20 more U.S. locations over the next
decade.
Site
Requirements: As with any indoor theme park, each KidZania requires a lot of
space to operate: 60,000 square feet and 30-foot-high
ceilings. According to company representatives, the activity centers also are
best suited to suburban areas with families and schools.
Contact Info:
http://kidzania.us/en/kidzania-press-kit/
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