Guwahati, March 1: Multiplex major Inox Leisure Ltd plans to go bullish on its expansion plans in the Northeast, which saw the opening of its first property in Jorhat last month.
"We have bullish expansion plans and hope to open new multiplexes across the region in the years to come," Subhasis Ganguli, regional director (east), Inox Leisure Ltd, told The Telegraph.
A two-screen property with 277 seats in the Upper Assam town marked the leading multiplex chain's Northeast foray.
Asked what would have prompted Inox to select a small town, Jorhat, to set up its first property, Ganguli said, "Our country is grossly under-screened. Even though we produce the maximum number of films, we have an estimated one screen for a million residents. The situation is the same in the Northeast, if not worse. Jorhat is a beautiful city and fits into all our standards to set up a multiplex here."
"We entered the region with the help of local partners," he said.
For its part, Inox has of late been focusing on tier two and three cities and small towns. "We have a huge reach inside tier II, III and even tier IV cities. Currently, we are present in 19 states, 57 cities with 106 multiplexes and 406 screens, making us a pan-Indian multiplex chain," Ganguli said.
In the past eight years, multiplexes have grown substantially in the country and the number of screens has almost doubled. The top five chains alone have more than 1,200 screens.
The past year has seen "best in business" technology and "value-added" luxury lifting the cinema viewing experience several notches in the region. Already, Guwahati has seen biggies such as PVR Cinemas and Mexican major Cinepolis set up shop last year.
While PVR, which has two screens with plans to have more, has started operations last year, Cinepolis is all set to open its four-screen property to film buffs this year.
So, with the multiplex majors sharing prime space, is Inox geared up for the "battle of the multiplexes" given the relative late entry?
"The question of competition or being one-up on the other really doesn't figure in our business. We believe in bringing the best movie viewing experience to our guests by providing them with crystal clear projection, distortion-free immersive sound and great acoustics," Ganguli said.
On the strengths of the region, he said, "Movies are part and parcel of our country, almost a way of life. We have noticed that the Northeast is as movie crazy as any other part of India. We strongly believe there is immense scope for multiplex chains to open theatres in the region."
Inox launched its country operations in 2002 in Pune with four screens. "With the launch of Jorhat, we are now 106 multiplexes with 406 screens in 57 cities across 19 states in the country. By the end of March 2016, we aim to have 435 screens in 111 multiplexes. We are eyeing the 645-screen mark in 155 multiplexes in the next couple of years," Ganguli said.
Value-addition has been a feature of the multiplexes. At Inox, the customer experience has been further enhanced at "Refuel", the in-house brand of theatre food.
