I think this article and the comments by the new management team are very revealing.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/05/21/six_flags_embarks_on_a_new_adventure/?page=full
Six Flags embarks on a new adventure
After years of steep financial losses, the amusement park chain is changing its strategy to focus less on thrill rides and more on families to boost its bottom line
By B.J. Roche, Globe Correspondent | May 21, 2006
AGAWAM -- If you're planning a trip to Six Flags New England this summer, be prepared for the subtle and not-so-subtle effects of a corporate regime change.
Babies are in -- there's a new child-care center; cigarettes are out -- smoking is banned. There's no need to adjust the anti-anxiety meds for this year's two new rides; one of them, Splash Water Falls, is downright tame.
And fuggedabout Mister Six, the Junior Soprano lookalike with a bus who appeared in Six Flags commercials. He's stepping aside to make room for the Marvel Comics Justice League: Batman and Robin, the Flash, the Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
Six Flags visitors will be shaking more hands than a mayoral candidate with some two dozen characters, including the Looney Tuners, roaming the grounds. Add a daily parade, and Six Flags is not just your teenager's theme park anymore.
''We've been a company that's about hardware," said new chief executive Mark Shapiro, referring to its roller coasters. ''But we need to be more than that. Theme parks take you away from the everyday, and they recreate a sense of wonder."
''You're not checking your PDA. You're not checking your e-mail. You're walking around and you're escaping," he added. ''That's the experience you're going to have at Six Flags."
It's a strategy to turn the company around in this, its 45th anniversary year. Shapiro, the energetic, 36-year-old former ESPN programming whiz, took over Six Flags Inc. in December, after a bruising proxy fight for the company led by Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder. Other changes include an expanded board of directors, which now includes movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.
Shapiro quickly declared an end to the costly roller coaster ''arms race," emphasizing instead what he calls the ''DNA of the parks," entertainment, character interaction, maintenance, and customer service.
''I don't want to lose the teenager," Shapiro said on a recent tour of the Agawam park. ''But I don't think you ever make money on a $20 million roller coaster. We need to concentrate on families. I think we chased them away."
To large shareholders -- including Fidelity Investments and Bill Gates -- the change in leadership was welcome news. Over the past several years, operating losses reached the hundreds of millions, while the stock price plummeted. Six Flags Inc. operates 30 parks, including Six Flags New England. Overall, the chain attracts about 33.7 million visitors annually but faces more than $2 billion in debt.
In the first quarter of this year, overall revenue was down 14 percent to $42.7 million, compared with a year ago, and losses grew 35 percent to $241 million, largely because Easter vacation fell later this year. But one bright spot: Revenue per capita rose 13 percent to $37.13, a shift the company credits to its family focus.
Meanwhile, some parks are being sold off, and a Texas real estate firm is evaluating what to do with 3,500 acres of undeveloped land, estimated to be worth about $300 million. The company intends to cut $40 million off its capital costs, reduce its television advertising and marketing budget, and increase parking fees.
Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, an industry consulting company, says previous management spent an ''exorbitant" amount on testosterone-fueled rides, like the Kingda Ka, a $20 million, 460-foot tall roller coaster at Great Adventure New Jersey, to draw teenagers at a time when consumer preferences were changing.
''They kept fostering this longer, higher, faster armaments war, and it didn't pay any dividends," Speigel said. ''People say, give us something besides roller coasters, give us the golden days of Disney, 'The Pirates of the Caribbean,' 'It's a Small World.' That's what's been lacking in the last four years."
Families are good business. They spend about 25 percent more than the $30 per day per person average at the regional parks, Speigel says, because they tend to stay longer, play more games, and eat more than teenagers, who generally visit parks under cheaper season passes.
Shapiro spent 12 years at ESPN, ending up as executive vice president for programming and production. His résumé includes two Peabody Awards and 16 Emmies, and in 2003, he was named a ''rising star" in Entertainment Weekly's list of the 101 Most Powerful People in Show Business.
At Six Flags, Shapiro is in the role of the turnaround guy, but he says his job is essentially the same as it was at ESPN: broadening the brand.
When he arrived at the sports-entertainment channel, the view-ership was predominantly male. By the time Shapiro left, entertainment-oriented sports programming helped bring the male audience on ESPN2 down to nearly 70 percent.
''We didn't lose any men. We just succeeded in getting more parents, more moms, more casual sports fans," he said.
Though it still has the trademark roller coasters and thrill rides, Six Flags New England also retains bits of its former life as Riverside Amusement Park, with its charmingly retro Main Street, which features games of chance housed in '50s-style storefronts like Fast Eddie's Diner.
The park, which became part of Six Flags in 2000, is among the largest seasonal employers in Western Massachusetts, with 100 full-time and 2,000 summer employees.
The company doesn't release individual park attendance figures, but Shapiro complained that the state could do more to help.
''We seriously lack signage on the highways," he said. ''If you haven't grown up here, you don't know where Six Flags is. We're getting obstacles from the state, and that's not the case in Atlanta, that's not the case in New Jersey. We can make a greater impact, but we need their help in promoting this park."
Paul Sacco, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, says the state features Six Flags in all of its promotional materials, including the state getaway guides and websites. ''We do a lot with them," he said.
Shapiro's family focus naturally invites comparisons to Disney. He doesn't mind.
''I love Disney," he said. ''But at the same time, I know the hardship on the American consumer. The American family goes to Disney an average of 1.2 times in their lives. You've got to buy an airline ticket, car rental, hotel, expensive food when you get there, expensive merchandise.
''But most importantly, you've got to take time off work," he added. ''If instead, you can offer a similar experience for just a car ride away, more convenient, more affordable, that's what Six Flags is going to be."
Disney has another competitive advantage: warm weather. Six Flags New England, which is open weekends until Memorial Day, is among the last parks to open each year. In Queensbury, N.Y., near Lake George, Six Flags Great Escape has become a year-round destination with the addition of an indoor water park and hotel.
There are no such plans yet for Six Flags New England, Shapiro said: ''We want to fix what we have."
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/05/21/six_flags_embarks_on_a_new_adventure/?page=full
Six Flags embarks on a new adventure
After years of steep financial losses, the amusement park chain is changing its strategy to focus less on thrill rides and more on families to boost its bottom line
By B.J. Roche, Globe Correspondent | May 21, 2006
AGAWAM -- If you're planning a trip to Six Flags New England this summer, be prepared for the subtle and not-so-subtle effects of a corporate regime change.
Babies are in -- there's a new child-care center; cigarettes are out -- smoking is banned. There's no need to adjust the anti-anxiety meds for this year's two new rides; one of them, Splash Water Falls, is downright tame.
And fuggedabout Mister Six, the Junior Soprano lookalike with a bus who appeared in Six Flags commercials. He's stepping aside to make room for the Marvel Comics Justice League: Batman and Robin, the Flash, the Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
Six Flags visitors will be shaking more hands than a mayoral candidate with some two dozen characters, including the Looney Tuners, roaming the grounds. Add a daily parade, and Six Flags is not just your teenager's theme park anymore.
''We've been a company that's about hardware," said new chief executive Mark Shapiro, referring to its roller coasters. ''But we need to be more than that. Theme parks take you away from the everyday, and they recreate a sense of wonder."
''You're not checking your PDA. You're not checking your e-mail. You're walking around and you're escaping," he added. ''That's the experience you're going to have at Six Flags."
It's a strategy to turn the company around in this, its 45th anniversary year. Shapiro, the energetic, 36-year-old former ESPN programming whiz, took over Six Flags Inc. in December, after a bruising proxy fight for the company led by Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder. Other changes include an expanded board of directors, which now includes movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.
Shapiro quickly declared an end to the costly roller coaster ''arms race," emphasizing instead what he calls the ''DNA of the parks," entertainment, character interaction, maintenance, and customer service.
''I don't want to lose the teenager," Shapiro said on a recent tour of the Agawam park. ''But I don't think you ever make money on a $20 million roller coaster. We need to concentrate on families. I think we chased them away."
To large shareholders -- including Fidelity Investments and Bill Gates -- the change in leadership was welcome news. Over the past several years, operating losses reached the hundreds of millions, while the stock price plummeted. Six Flags Inc. operates 30 parks, including Six Flags New England. Overall, the chain attracts about 33.7 million visitors annually but faces more than $2 billion in debt.
In the first quarter of this year, overall revenue was down 14 percent to $42.7 million, compared with a year ago, and losses grew 35 percent to $241 million, largely because Easter vacation fell later this year. But one bright spot: Revenue per capita rose 13 percent to $37.13, a shift the company credits to its family focus.
Meanwhile, some parks are being sold off, and a Texas real estate firm is evaluating what to do with 3,500 acres of undeveloped land, estimated to be worth about $300 million. The company intends to cut $40 million off its capital costs, reduce its television advertising and marketing budget, and increase parking fees.
Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, an industry consulting company, says previous management spent an ''exorbitant" amount on testosterone-fueled rides, like the Kingda Ka, a $20 million, 460-foot tall roller coaster at Great Adventure New Jersey, to draw teenagers at a time when consumer preferences were changing.
''They kept fostering this longer, higher, faster armaments war, and it didn't pay any dividends," Speigel said. ''People say, give us something besides roller coasters, give us the golden days of Disney, 'The Pirates of the Caribbean,' 'It's a Small World.' That's what's been lacking in the last four years."
Families are good business. They spend about 25 percent more than the $30 per day per person average at the regional parks, Speigel says, because they tend to stay longer, play more games, and eat more than teenagers, who generally visit parks under cheaper season passes.
Shapiro spent 12 years at ESPN, ending up as executive vice president for programming and production. His résumé includes two Peabody Awards and 16 Emmies, and in 2003, he was named a ''rising star" in Entertainment Weekly's list of the 101 Most Powerful People in Show Business.
At Six Flags, Shapiro is in the role of the turnaround guy, but he says his job is essentially the same as it was at ESPN: broadening the brand.
When he arrived at the sports-entertainment channel, the view-ership was predominantly male. By the time Shapiro left, entertainment-oriented sports programming helped bring the male audience on ESPN2 down to nearly 70 percent.
''We didn't lose any men. We just succeeded in getting more parents, more moms, more casual sports fans," he said.
Though it still has the trademark roller coasters and thrill rides, Six Flags New England also retains bits of its former life as Riverside Amusement Park, with its charmingly retro Main Street, which features games of chance housed in '50s-style storefronts like Fast Eddie's Diner.
The park, which became part of Six Flags in 2000, is among the largest seasonal employers in Western Massachusetts, with 100 full-time and 2,000 summer employees.
The company doesn't release individual park attendance figures, but Shapiro complained that the state could do more to help.
''We seriously lack signage on the highways," he said. ''If you haven't grown up here, you don't know where Six Flags is. We're getting obstacles from the state, and that's not the case in Atlanta, that's not the case in New Jersey. We can make a greater impact, but we need their help in promoting this park."
Paul Sacco, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, says the state features Six Flags in all of its promotional materials, including the state getaway guides and websites. ''We do a lot with them," he said.
Shapiro's family focus naturally invites comparisons to Disney. He doesn't mind.
''I love Disney," he said. ''But at the same time, I know the hardship on the American consumer. The American family goes to Disney an average of 1.2 times in their lives. You've got to buy an airline ticket, car rental, hotel, expensive food when you get there, expensive merchandise.
''But most importantly, you've got to take time off work," he added. ''If instead, you can offer a similar experience for just a car ride away, more convenient, more affordable, that's what Six Flags is going to be."
Disney has another competitive advantage: warm weather. Six Flags New England, which is open weekends until Memorial Day, is among the last parks to open each year. In Queensbury, N.Y., near Lake George, Six Flags Great Escape has become a year-round destination with the addition of an indoor water park and hotel.
There are no such plans yet for Six Flags New England, Shapiro said: ''We want to fix what we have."
