February 11 , 2007

BIRTHDAY PARTY OPERATIONS ON THE RISE!
...can the amusement industry provide alternative products to fulfill their needs?

A few weeks ago, we announced in our newsletter that Family Bowling received recognition from local authorities as a leading Export product for 2007. This unit continues to sell extremely well, with increased volume sold to mainly our manufacturing partners Namco USA and Namco UK while we focus on our Asian markets as well as China.

Birthday Parties Gaining Popularity

Birthday party programs have always been an area of profits for Family Entertainment Centers. However, more and more independent locations and operators are starting to open up businesses that target mainly Birthday Parties. From Disney Theme (staged costume parties), face painting, toy stuffing, laser tags, to other interesting concepts, these birthday party operators are always looking for new products and ideas to spice up their packages. One of their main competitors of course is the regular bowling centers (also a popular place to host birthday parties).

Lately, we have observed an exceptional development in Asia where birthday party operators or Family Entertainment Centers that host birthday parties are beginning to find Family Bowling a product of great interest to promote! The idea is to merge a traditional family entertainment center with a bowling center!

Think Outside of the Box!

We believe that in markets where birthday party operations thrive, operators - and especially distributors - should be on the lookout for products that are unique and has the potential to capture attention and be marketed successfully.

A few years ago, UNIS developed a bear stuffing machine called Bear Train Express which was targeted towards shopping malls and birthday party operators. We were quite successful in terms of sales to such operations and response was high. Our line was later merged with a U.S. company in the same line of business, Animaland who became our manufacturing partner.

Family Bowling is viewed as the next hit for birthday parties simply because kids love to bowl! The software is created with the same feel and touch as a bowling simulator, leaning of course towards the younger age group. The scoring and the features simulate an actual bowling game with the bowling ball size designed for easy handling by the younger generation.

Many of our clients now procure up to 4 machines at a time and have been actively promoting their birthday parties featuring the Family Bowling.

Clients with FECs are also promoting Family Bowling as the main product in their party packages along side many other games at the location. By bringing in bowling simulators, FECs now have an advantage over traditional bowling centers where the variety of activity is limited to only bowling.

With thousands of Birthday Party operations stretching from Asia to USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe and even Latin America countries, this is no longer an industry segment that should be ignored. Many of the larger birthday party operators have already merged redemption concept with their business. If the birthday parties in your country is still bounded by the traditional party offerings, we urge our operators/buyers and especially distributors to think outside of the box and be one of the first to consider promoting Family Bowling to Birthday Party operators!

For more details on the product, please contact your sales representative!
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