User:Vortex3427/Timezone
Timezone is an Australian multinational chain of video arcades owned by The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG).
History
[edit]
In the early 1970s, Leisure & Allied Industries (LAI), a Western Australian company which manufactures and imports arcade games, opened its first video game stores in Perth. In 1976, LAI owner Malcolm Steinberg relaunched the two locations, Blue Pumpernickel and Crystal Palace, as Timezone arcades. It successfully expanded outside the state in the early 1980s, and, from 1989 to 1991, opened 25 new outlets. By 1992, Timezone's 47 company-owned and six joint-venture arcades earned half of LAI's revenue. The company was the largest arcade operator in Australia, controlling 18% of the market.[1]
At the time, arcades were often thought of as cheap, dingy establishments which attracted troublemakers, loiterers and where children spent coins to waste their time. Parents dubbed Timezone "crimezone".[1][2] To combat this poor image, staff strictly policed and regularly cleaned Timezone, banning smoking, alcohol, and children during school hours.[1]
Despite its success, Timezone had to confront another issue in the mid-1990s: the rise of home entertainment and gaming in Australia. Timezone's profits declined significantly as arcades ceded their dominance of the market to consoles. Steinberg was forced to shift his operation's focus to Indonesia, as their revenue had gone from $100 million in 1996 to a projected $40 million in 2000.[3][4] In 1995, the first Timezone in Indonesia opened.[5] In a joint venture with Indonesian retailer Matahari, LAI sold its manufacturing factory in Perth and opened a new Jakarta complex in 1998. Steinberg cut costs to bring Australian operations "to a sustainable level",[4] including by closing locations,[2] and looked for more capital through a public float.[4] The Asian expansion was a success. Timezone grew to 63 locations in Indonesia and expanded to the Philippines and Singapore, albeit at a slower rate. In 2017, only a quarter of their revenue came from Australia.[2][4]
In January 2017,
Arcades
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Shoebridge, Neil (20 March 1992). "'Recession-Resilient' Timezone Dusts Off Expansion Plans". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024.
- ^ a b c Battersby, Lucy (2 February 2017). "Timezone planning massive expansion as shopping malls seek to entertain". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Sas, Nick (29 May 2018). "Meet the arcade king". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Treadgold, Tim (June 9, 2000). "Timezone's hot new game is in Indonesia". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Shoebridge, Neil (March 20, 1995). "Fun And Games In Store For Indons". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2024.