Timezone opened five new stores in Australia in 2016, and an ever bigger expansion is on the horizon, Fairfax Media is reporting.
In an exclusive report by Lucy Battersby for the Sydney Morning Herald, the Timezone board signed off on a massive expansion program in late January 2017 which will see the shopping centre arcade double its stores across Australia and Asia.
It currently has 186 stores, including eight in New Zealand, eight in Singapore, 25 in India, 50 in the Philippines and 70 stores in Indonesia.
“Once dubbed "crimezone", Timezone used to be the kind of place parents warned their children against visiting,” Battersby reports.
“Amusement arcades were noisy dark places where bored teenagers wasted time and were sitting ducks for nefarious types.
“Melbourne City Council even requested a ban on parlours in the late 1990s.
“Then the internet came and arcades started closing down as teenagers and gamers found Xboxs, PlayStations and then smartphones delivered the same thrills without the need for gold coins.
“Now, shopping mall owners are actively seeking out arcades as they revamp the malls as leisure destinations.
“And Timezone wants to get the bonus points as its customers of the 80s and 90s look for something to do with their own kids.”
Continue reading on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website.
