In Conversation with Mr. Siddhant Parekh, Director of 7D Rider share the growth of his Brand in India. expanding the footprint in tier II and III towns, as well as overseas forays on the back of their new marketing strategy.
Q1. Sharewith us your entrepreneurial journey? What interested you to create a brand in Entertainment Industry?
I started my Journey around 5 years ago, I quit my job as a HR Executive in Hindustan Times and decided to start something on my own. I started my business into Import Export wherein we supply anything thing and everything to our clients based abroad which I still to till date.
On one of my trips abroad I came across this concept of 5D which gave me a different kind of adrenal rush asit was totally new to me and I had not seen or felt anything like this before in the Indian Market, the base of this 5D entertainment ride was taken from Universal Studios and the effects were as per there standards.
In 2011 I decided that we need to get this concept to India so that people here can experience this world class entertainment ride.
In 2012 we finally installed our first 5D Ride at Infiniti Mall, Mumbai. The response was overwhelming, after and overwhelming response in Mumbai, the very next year we ventured in Pune where the response was at par with what we got in Mumbai.
With Technology we need to constantly be up to date with the latest in the market and when we are following Universal Studios you need to be on your toes all the time. In 2015 we upgraded to the latest in technology and changed out name to 7D Rider where the latest technology of guns was introduced. With this interaction level of the participants have increased many folds. Also now currently we are the only one who have this technology in the Mumbai and Pune market.
Entertainment Industry per say is a very challenging industry and is an industry where profit margins are high as well. People need entertainment in theirlif,e kids needs respite from there hectic study schedule and elders need it from there stressfullife’s, 7D Rider is a unique ride where age is just a number, anyone from 2 years and above can enjoy this ride. You just need to be young at heart
Q2 How do you see the growth of ‘7D RIDER’ from the day you started it? In which locations ‘7D RIDER’ mark its presence?
7D Rider has a huge growth potential in all the markets, primarily it targets kids, so the target audience is always going to be there and in addition there are around 100 plus themes to choose from so the guests are spoiled for choices. Also the percentage of repeat customers is around 30-35% which shows how people enjoy it and come repeatedly to experience new themes every time.
More over this concept is growing in the Metro cities but in the satellite cities and small cities it is still not there, so growing opportunities in this market is very high as these are still OPEN market for this concept.
Q3. What is the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of ‘7D RIDER’? How is your brand different from your competitors?
USP of 7D Rider is its Ride quality which is at a distance with other similar rider providers. The effects make you feel as if you are in the animated ride experiencing it firsthand then just seeing it on the screen. The Movement of the chairs are actual movements which makes the customer feel that he is part of the ride.
The quality of the machine also plays an important rolein forming its USP as it’s of the highest standard thus giving a hassle free ride experience.
7D Rider is also a compact unit which needs just 400Sqft of are for operation and can be managed by a single person with no technical background as well.
7D Rider can also be mobile unit wherein we can mount the unit on top of a trailer and can take it across villages during festive season.
Q4. What kind of backend and frontend support you would provide to your franchisees?
We currently have 2 units of our own and the 3rd Unit will be functional in a couple of months’ time. There is a 1 year warranty on the machine, we would also provide first had training to your staff regarding maintenance and customer interaction.
Movies upgrade will be given at no extra cost. Any Technical support which can be given from our side would be at no extra cost.
Marketing Material, offers if any shall be extended you as well.
Q5.Where do you see your brand in the next 5 years?
We plan to have 7D Rider reach satellite city across India starting from Maharashtra Gujrat, MP, Karnataka so on a so forth.
Q6. Please share the franchise facts of 7D RIDER’ with us.
- Total Investment: 50 Lac for a 9 Seat Unit ( we have higher capacity units, cost on request)
- Franchise fees: 5 Lac
- Area Required: 400 Sqft carpet
- Royalty: 20 % monthly sale
- Margin: average ticket cost is 180 / per person, the running cost per rider with 9 customers of 5 Mins is approx. 20-30 INR. you can now do the math’s
- Payback period: it all depends on the location, in our Mumbai unit we recovered the cost in 6 Month’s time since it was an established Mall, in our Pune unit since the Mall was new it took us 12 Months to recover the cost.