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27 Jul 2017
It takes 'more than money and cranes' to have theme park success, Six Flags tells Wanda
BY
Tom Anstey
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Six Flags has a portfolio of 20 parks across the US, with the operator now planning an international expansion
photo: Shutterstock.com
James Reid-Anderson, the chair of Six Flags, has told Wanda that it takes "more than money and cranes" to build successful theme parks after questions were raised about the viability of the Chinese market. During Six Flags’ latest earnings call, Reid-Anderson was asked whether there had been a "change" in the Chinese market after Wanda announced plans to hold back its theme park ambitions, but he suggested that there was more of an issue with the operator than the lay of the land in China.
Six Flags has ramped up its operations in China as part of its global expansion, signing franchise deals for parks in Chongqing and Zhejiang province. Reid-Anderson said the nation “has the potential to have as many Six flags parks as in the US".
“We have significant expertise in building and operating theme parks and Wanda have their own issues within China,” he said.
“There will be issues around market selection, site selection, ride selection, inexperience running theme parks, and just very fast movement to multiple theme parks, which are very difficult to build and run without expertise. I think it takes more than money and cranes to build a successful theme park and that's part of the challenge that they faced.”
When asked further about Six Flags’ Chinese ventures with its partner the Riverside Investment Group, Reid-Anderson said there were no problems.
“Our partner in China has been superb to deal with, and there is no pullback, no change,” he said. “We're moving full speed ahead. And we're targeting great locations. We're very, very careful in the way that we select our sites. And we have a team that is lined up ready to ensure that we support our partner in their goal of adding new parks as we go along one step at a time.”
Six Flags currently has five overseas investments – four in China, one in the Middle East and the other in Vietnam, the latter stalling with the development partner NaVi Entertainment entering default. The operator has also been in active discussions to bring a park to Saudi Arabia and is rumoured to be looking at locations in Malaysia and Singapore.
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