Michael Schreiber, chief executive of Australian entertainment company Funlab. Photo / Supplied
Michael Schreiber, chief executive of Australian entertainment company Funlab. Photo / Supplied
Private equity-owned entertainment company Funlab plans to have 10 mini-golf and arcade bar concepts operating in New Zealand in the next three to four years.
The Australian company, which in the last financial year had a turnover of more than $100 million and operates 10 different venue concepts, will investmore than $30m in the market to expand its quirky hospitality offerings which it says are a modern take on the traditional nightclub.
Funlab operates pop-culture themed mini-golf bar Holey Moley on Auckland's waterfront and is gearing up to launch arcade bar Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in Newmarket in September.
The company spent $3m on the Holey Moley location and has invested $6m on Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. Other, more established brands, it operates include Strike bowling alley and Skyzone, which typically costs around $3.5m to open new locations.
Michael Schreiber, chief executive of Funlab - which also operates other adult-only hospitality concepts B.Lucky & Sons, Juke's Karaoke Bar and escape room concept Red Herring in Australia, said New Zealand had responded well to its first location.
It sold $130,000 worth of corporate functions ahead of the opening of Holey Moley in October last year.
Targeted predominantly for the millennial crowd; those aged between 18 to 35, Schreiber said Funlab's venues were a 21st-century take on the traditional nightclub, a sector which in recent years has faced a flurry of closures.
"It is an alternative night out - it's certainly not somewhere you are going to go every weekend, none of our concepts are, they are three to four times-a-year visits," Schreiber told the Herald.
He said the company's venues focused on "facilitating social interactions".
"We make sure a lot of what we do can't be streamed into the home on Netflix or delivered by Amazon or be facilitated by the internet, and that people consume the experiences on site; get out of the home, go out and see people in real life," he said.
"It's not that easy to meet people anymore and people don't need to go to nightclubs to meet people anymore - that's what the internet is for.
"Places like Holey Moley are really popular for Tinder dates, and we understand why, and that's why nightclubs have kind of been displaced today."
Funlab will launch its arcade bar concept Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in Auckland in September. Photo / Supplied
In the next five years, Funlab, owned by Next Capital, plans to operate concepts including its karaoke bar, in all of New Zealand's major cities; Queenstown, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton.
"We'd like to have 10 businesses operating in New Zealand in the next three to four years, and that represents a $30m investment," he said.
"We'll have a Strike in each of the major cities, a Holey Moley in each of the major cities, an Archie Brothers in each of the major cities, at a minimum, and in Auckland we'll have duplicates of Strike - one north, one south."
Funlab CEO Michael Schreiber says the company's entertainment venues are popular spots for Tinder dates. Photo / Getty Images
It will open two other Funlab concepts - brands it is keeping under wraps - in Auckland by the end of next year. It also plans to open a Strike bowling alley in Westfield Albany shopping mall in Auckland's North Shore when the mall begins expansion of its site.
Schreiber said there was more opportunity for the business to expand in New Zealand compared to Australia, on a per capita basis.
Funlab was founded in 2002 and for its first 10 years in business ran only its bowling alleys. The Holey Moley brand is the biggest earner for the company.
In the past two years, Funlab has grown from 15 locations to 30, and increased its revenue from A$46m to circa A$118m. In the last financial year, it had a turnover of A$100m ($108m). This year it forecasts turnover of A$150m.
