Leisure and Allied Industries to Invest $80 million in India

Leisure and Allied Industries to Invest $80 million in India

Leisure and Allied Industries, owner of the FEC brand Timezone, is planning to invest AU $80 million over the next five years in India.

Malcolm D Steinberg, Executive Chairman of LAI, said the company recognises India as one of its biggest growth markets.

"We are investing in talent, manufacturing and resources continuously. The mall-revolution is clearly taking a centre stage in India and we want our entertainment zones to be present wherever the malls are. Broadly, we'll invest about $80 million over the next five years," he said.

Timezone in India is a joint venture between LAI and Shoppers' Stop, with the joint venture launching five gaming centres in the past year in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Two more gaming centres are currently being set up in the outskirts of Mumbai, with Sonaal Chopra, Timezone Entertainment CEO stating that the company was planning to set up 3-4 more Timezones in the current fiscal year.

"We will expand across the country as more malls come up in cities like Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur," said Chopra. "The format of our entertainment zones works best in malls. While hypermarkets and cinemas continue to draw customers we believe entertainment zones will make them come back again and again," said Chopra.

"Banking on this logic, in the mid-term, we aim to launch about 45 such zones and over 100 by 2013."