Economic indicators of the bowling club, located on 700 sq. m and providing 10 play tracks and a bar, subject to the registration of the premises for rent.
Market analysis and competition
The bowling club is an entertainment facility for active recreation of the population. Today, almost no one will be surprised by its purpose, especially in large cities, people quite often rush to diversify their weekdays and weekends, going to leave the balls at the pins. With such a demand, as well as the lack of saturation of regional market segments, opening a bowling club can become a profitable and promising business.
According to scientific and economic research, it has been determined that today the Russian bowling market is insufficiently saturated. So, you can find many cities, especially small towns and settlements, on the territory of which there is not a single bowling club. This situation contributes to the development of a fairly promising business in this industry.
The modern form of bowling was developed quite recently, about 20 years ago. Previously, such establishments were intended only for the upper strata of the population. Today, any person has the right to visit gambling clubs, but they are most focused on the population with an average income. Bowling visitors can be
- civil servants;
- office workers;
- university students and others.
Today, such gambling establishments are popular among young people along with nightclubs and cinemas. According to experts, the dynamics of the development of this type of business is closely related to the growth of the well-being of the population.
As for competition in this type of business, it is high in large regions of the country and practically absent in small settlements.
The first place in terms of saturation with bowling centers is taken by Moscow (about 250 establishments), and the second - by St. Petersburg (170 clubs). There are no players with a significant share in this market segment. Network participants are just beginning their development and today represent not specialized bowling clubs, but full-fledged entertainment centers with a large list of entertainment services.
Business registration and organization
Any type of commercial activity is subject to mandatory state registration in the manner prescribed by law. In order for the bowling alley to have the opportunity to work with corporate clients, when registering it, it is necessary to choose the form of ownership in the form of LLC. For this, constituent documents and authorized capital are formed, after which an appropriate application form is submitted to the local inspection of the Federal Tax Service. At the same time, it is necessary to fill out a notification about the selected taxation regime (simplified tax system at a rate of 6% of income), obtain statistical codes and register with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the FSS.
Required Documentation
- certificates of state registration of individual entrepreneurs or legal entities;
- certificate of registration with the Federal Tax Service;
- a lease agreement or other document that determines the right to own the premises;
- conclusions from SES and GPN;
- local government permits;
- contracts for the export of solid waste and disposal of hazardous waste;
- agreements with the organization for the disinfestation of ventilation and air conditioning systems;
- permission from authorized institutions to sign and use KKM;
- permits from Rospotrebnadzor and the local administration for the sale of certain types of goods.
If desired, the bowling alley owner can issue a certificate of conformity. In addition, if a bar is planned to be organized on the territory of an entertainment facility, then a license will be required, which gives the right to sell alcoholic beverages.
Premises, renovation and interior
The main criterion determining the choice of a suitable location for the future bowling club should be the presence near the residential sector and the absence of competitors, and not only the same clubs, but also other gambling establishments. It is considered optimal to place a bowling alley near transport arteries and metro stations. 
If we talk about renting premises, then it is most convenient to organize an institution on the territory:
- upper floors of shopping or business centers;
- closed cinemas, houses of culture or warehouses.
A bowling alley can be built from scratch. Despite the fact that this method of acquiring premises will require a lot of capital and a lot of time, in addition, it will increase the payback period of the business, but the building itself will become the property of the entrepreneur and will help him to significantly reduce operating costs in the future. One should not ignore the fact that the modern construction market is ready to offer a large number of inexpensive, but sufficiently high-quality materials.
To organize a bowling alley, you will need an area of at least 1000 sq. m, it must meet the requirements of the fire service, SES and other authorized departments.
In addition to the service room, it is necessary to provide rooms for organizing the machine department and technical department for storing various parts and equipment. The engine room is subject to soundproofing to ensure customer comfort. But to create an interior that will allow visitors to feel comfortable, it is best to use the services of an experienced designer.
Equipment and facilities
In addition to choosing a suitable room, when drawing up a bowling alley project, it is important to take into account the play equipment. The main list of club equipment must include:
- pinspotter - a device that restores the pins to their original position;
- ball return system;
- monitors;
- scoring system;
- paths equipped with a base.
The amount of equipment depends on the planned volume of services provided, and its price depends on the selected manufacturer.
In addition to direct gaming devices, you need to take care of furniture sets, decorative panels, spare parts, accessories and other consumables.
Organization of the club
The main services of almost every bowling club are:
- Hourly rental of game tracks.
- Cafe or bar services.
When planning the working hours of the club, it is important to take into account the preferences of potential customers, or rather the time at which they are most disposed to visit. So, on weekdays, such a rest is in demand in the evening, since during the day most of the people are at work or study. At the same time, on weekends, it is worth taking care of an uninterrupted schedule, because on vacation people are ready to have fun at any time of the day. If there are no competing organizations nearby, then at this time a fairly saturated flow of customers can be expected, which allows entrepreneurs to raise prices.
The recommended bowling hours are from 12.00 to 6.00.
Recording is carried out by pre-booking the track by phone on the official website or by contacting the club administrator directly.
Staff
For the smooth operation of the bowling club, it is necessary to take care of the attendants. So, the most important specialist in such applications is a locksmith who monitors the operation of equipment and technical means, as well as their repair. In addition, the staff of the bowling alley will depend on the availability of additional services (cafes, etc.). When organizing a club for 5-10 playing tracks, the following staff will be required:
- locksmiths - 3 rates;
- administrators - 3 rates;
- instructors - 3 stakes;
- security guards;
- waiters - 2-3 stakes;
- bartender - 2-3 bets;
- cooks - 2-3 stakes.
As a rule, due to the peculiarities of the organization of the work of such gambling establishments, the staff is set to work in shifts.
Marketing
- outdoor advertising in the form of a colorful signboard;
- online advertising on social networks;
- official website-business card;
- SEO-website promotion in search engines;
- leaflets, brochures and business cards.
In addition, it is worthwhile to provide for discounts in advance for certain social groups of society (students, young families, etc.), as well as develop loyalty campaigns (discounts for birthday people, corporate customers, etc.).
The financial component of the business
The financial component of any business, the conduct of which requires 
large areas and special expensive equipment, including the opening of a bowling club, directly depends on significant amounts of investment. To determine the economic feasibility of implementing the idea of opening a gambling establishment, it is important to calculate as accurately as possible the cost of opening and maintaining the activity, as well as the amount of future income and the payback period. When calculating, it is important to take into account the degree of influence of the characteristics of the regional market.
Opening and maintaining costs
To open a bowling club for 10 playing lanes, taking into account the lease of premises with an area of 700 sq. m. and the organization of the bar will require at least 16 million rubles. This amount will include expenses:
- to pay for the first month of rent - 400 thousand rubles;
- for the repair and preparation of the premises - 3 million rubles;
- for the purchase and installation of equipment - 11 million rubles;
- for the purchase of accessories and consumables - 1 million rubles;
- to pay for registration, advertising and other expenses - 600 thousand rubles.
The club's current expenses can reach 800 thousand rubles a month. Most of the costs will be rent about 400 thousand rubles and salary with deductions of about 300 thousand rubles.
Amount of future income
Depending on the efficiency of the establishment's promotion and the increase in the flow of customers, the bowling revenue for the first two or three months of operation will not exceed 600 thousand rubles per month. For the next three months, you can expect an average income of up to 1 million rubles, and by the end of the first year of operation, the financial performance of the institution may exceed 2 million rubles. As a result, the annual revenue will amount to about 17 million rubles.
Payback period
Taking into account that the sum of annual expenses of bowling is 9600 thousand rubles, the net profit for the year of operation will be 7.4 million rubles. As a result, the start-up capital invested in the business will be able to pay off after 2-2.5 years of continuous operation of the club.
Despite the huge amount of capital investment, with a competent organization and high-quality marketing policy, the business of maintaining a bowling club can become profitable and pay off in almost one or two years of operation. Such gambling establishments are in great demand among the modern population, which allows their owners to make good profits and develop.
St. Petersburg has about 170 open kegel establishments. Experts note that there is an opportunity to open as many more entertainment centers.
Bowling entertainment is able to compete with discos, cinemas and other entertainment venues.
Today the Russian Federation has a leading position in the commissioning of entertainment centers with bowling, and is ahead of the United States of America in this indicator.
One lane can generate a profit of 3,000 to 4,000 conventional units.
Stage 1. Business concept
At the first stage, it is necessary to develop a concept for the institution. The development of the concept includes the following points:
- The location of the institution;
- Business plan;
- Project;
To open a club, you need to prepare a certain package of documentation, register an enterprise, obtain a property certificate, etc.
The bowling club does not require a license and is not subject to specialized taxes.
Companies that manufacture equipment can help with the organization. In addition to equipment, companies provide concepts.
The main difficulty is the choice of location. Not every room can be suitable for bowling and placement of play lanes in it. In practice, you can face the cost of redevelopment.
The bowling club concept plays an important role.
Stage 2. Premises
The main criteria for premises and accommodation is the proximity of the residential sector and the absence of competition in the form of other gambling and other establishments.
Neighboring the club is good with a transport highway, a metro station.
It would be nice to arrange parking spaces near the club for about 20 vehicles. The concept of a club that does not provide for parking may be rejected by the city administration. Component manufacturers websites allow you to create a bowling alley plan, analyze investments and assess the level of future income.
To place a club, you need to select a building with an area of 1,000 square meters. This area can accommodate a number of bowling alleys, cafes, warehouses, utility rooms, sanitary facilities (for visitors and staff).
The main locations are:
- Upper tiers of shopping or business centers;
- Former houses of culture;
- Former premises of cinemas;
- Former storage facilities;
You can also resort to building your own premises. The cost of building premises from 1,000 square meters will range from 500 to 700 thousand conventional units. The construction process will take about 6 months. Construction costs are paid off only after 18-24 months.
All premises are subject to a standard set of requirements from the fire inspection, sanitary and epidemiological service, and other departments. When the club is located on the upper floors, the design must comply with safe standards.
The area for customers should be able to withstand a mass of up to 300 kilograms per 1 square meter, the area where the equipment is installed - 500 kilograms per 1 square meter. Also, to place the tracks, it must be borne in mind that load-bearing columns must be installed in the room, and, if possible, as far as possible between themselves.
Bowling center equipment:
- Exhaust ventilation;
- Sewerage;
- Conducting cold and hot water;
It is also necessary to create a room for an engine room and a technical room, they are intended for the safety of additional spare parts and other equipment.
It is also necessary to create soundproof walls if the building in use contains a shopping center or office premises.
Particularly the focus should be on soundproofing in the engine room. This will provide customers with maximum comfort. The lights in the club should be even and calm. The light should be on top.
A few facts about entertainment venues.
The price of the game in various establishments:
- The network of clubs "Almak" - from 260 to 650 rubles. in 60 minutes;
- Leader clubs - from 290 to 790 rubles. in 60 minutes;
- Bowling City - from 300 to 900 rubles. in 60 minutes;
320,000 conventional units - the profitability of the club in the presence of 8 playing roads.
The number of establishments in St. Petersburg is 14. The number of establishments in Moscow is 74.
When choosing a room, you must be guided by the rules and regulations of the inspection authorities.
Stage 3. Equipment
The price of the equipment, if purchased from an authorized representative, will include:
- Delivery plan and equipment installation;
- Warranty support;
Club owners prefer to purchase equipment that is produced in the United States of America. To firms, equipment manufacturers include companies such as: AMF, Brunswick. Also on the market there are equipment from Chinese manufacturers Via and Xima. Representatives of all of the above companies can be found in the capital.
The bowling alley will be able to receive the first profit 4 months after the initial cash infusion. Installation of all equipment takes place within 14-40 days. The equipment can last from 30 to 50 years. The equipment is ordered directly from the manufacturing countries.
To install the equipment, a rectangular platform is required. The dimensions of the playground are set based on the required availability of the playground and places for visitors.
An example would be a site for 10 play areas. In this case, you will need an area of the order of 700 square meters.
Such an area will allow you to place:
- A place to overclock the player;
- Throwing area (lanes);
- Equipment that sets the pins;
Opposite the overclocking zone, a platform is installed on which seats for clients are located. To create the effect of space (the light of the tracks in a dimly lit room), special lighting devices (fluorescent lamp) are attached to the tracks.
Bowling equipment is supplied directly from the country of origin (service life - from 30 to 50 years; installation - from 2 to 5 weeks).
Stage 4. Personnel
The most important employee of the bowling alley is the locksmith. All work of equipment and technical means will depend on his work and professionalism.
Bowling alley staff:
- Locksmiths (3 rates);
- Administrator (3 bets);
- Instructor (3 stakes);
- Security officer;
Service staff:
- Waiter;
- Bartender;
- Cook (2-3 stakes);
Personnel can be trained and advised by the equipment supplier. This item of expenditure is already spelled out in the contract for the supply of equipment.
The main employee of the bowling alley is a locksmith.
Stage 5. Features
Additional sources of income:
- Buffet (minibar);
- Cooking;
- Slot machine;
Bowling alley is considered a sport in many European countries as well as in the United States of America. Therefore, in European countries, bowling clubs rarely have a bar, kitchen, slot machines, etc. In the Russian Federation, the visitor comes to rest, eat, listen to music, play, and keep the children busy. Therefore, it would be advisable to equip a children's room and other necessary rooms.
The bowling club profit is divided into:
- 75% of the profit - bowling;
- 25% of the profit - selling in a bar;
When creating an image, you can think about attracting a bowling team. A team can even consist of several people. Such a move will be an extra advertisement for the establishment. It will also help attract more experienced people who play bowling and treat it like a sport. Among other things, visitors can be surprised by a spectacular throw from a professional.
The most profitable times are Friday (evening) and weekends. These days there are most of the visitors, and also during this time there is an increase in prices.
The bowling alley is also a family sport, often in clubs you can meet whole families who are just relaxing. Children's bowling equipment is also provided for children.
The costs associated with the opening of the bowling alley, which provides 10 play areas for a room of 1000 square meters.
As a result, the minimum cost of opening a bowling club will be about 600,000 conventional units.
More recently, such entertainment as bowling was considered elite in our country. The inaccessibility of this game was due to the high cost of equipment. But today a lot has changed, so entrepreneurs are boldly investing in this profitable business. We offer you step-by-step instructions on how to open a bowling alley in a small town.
Registration of documents
If you are attracted to such an activity, ask the experts how to open a bowling club in a small town, and what documents you need to issue for this. You can register as a sole trader. But if you plan to expand your business in the future, open an LLC right away. For paperwork, you need to pay a state fee of 4 thousand rubles.
After you register your activity and register with the tax office, you need to obtain permission from Rospotrebnadzor and other regulatory authorities. The premises in which the bowling club is located is considered to be sophisticated and designed for a large number of visitors. But there are no special requirements for it. Therefore, it will not be difficult to obtain all permits.
Location selection
A lot of questions always arise before newcomers - how much money do you need to open a bowling alley, where to start your activity and how to choose a venue? The technical requirements for a bowling center business premises are quite simple. There is no need for windows or any special engineering communications. In principle, you can build a room yourself. But in this case, investments in the bowling club business will be exorbitant. In addition, the payback period will significantly increase.If you want to rent a room, certain problems may arise with the search for a suitable option. This is a serious factor hindering the development of bowling in our country. Large businessmen do not want to invest in the construction of such establishments, and aspiring entrepreneurs do not have such a large start-up capital. The only salvation in this situation is loans. In principle, if you take out a loan, you can not start construction, but buy a ready-made bowling business. It all depends on your financial capabilities.
In addition to treadmills, you need to equip a wardrobe, bar, kitchen, etc. Therefore, first of all, you need to calculate how many square meters you need. To equip one track, you need to allocate 100 sq. meters, while the length of the room must be at least 35 meters. This is ideal. In practice, most bowling clubs do not meet these parameters. If you can correctly place the equipment, 50-70 sq. M is enough for one track. meters. But in this case, you will not be able to hold competitions, since professionals will not visit an institution that does not meet the established standards.
It is best to open your bowling club in a shopping and entertainment center. Of course, the cost of renting in such a place will be high, but since you will have a constant stream of customers, all costs will be more than compensated for. If you want to open a bowling alley business in a separate area, it is desirable that it be located in the center or in a walk-through area.
Facility format
So, you have firmly decided, I want to open my own bowling alley, but you cannot decide on the format of the establishment. Consider the most popular bowling center concepts:
- Sport Club. Such establishments are opened at sports complexes. They are most often visited by professionals or rather advanced amateurs. An alcoholic bar in such an establishment will not bring you much revenue, but you can make good money on oxygen cocktails and healthy food. On the basis of the sports bowling club, you can open an accessories store. You also need to hire coaches on the staff who will help newcomers for a fee. To attract visitors to your institution, hold sports competitions with a decent prize fund;
- Family club. In such a club, besides bowling, other types of entertainment should be provided. Visitors come to the family bowling club with children, so special playgrounds should be equipped here. Additional income can be obtained from corporate events and birthdays. In a family establishment, a bar, slot machines, billiards and various attractions bring a good income;
- Bowling in the entertainment center. Are you thinking? We advise you to open a multi-purpose institution for mass recreation of young people in a local entertainment center. There should be a lot of additional entertainment, for example, a computer club, a climbing wall, children's and adult slot machines, and so on. In such an institution, various snacks, sweets, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are sold well. On weekends and holidays, discos can be held;
- Closed club. This format is aimed at VIP clients. In such establishments, prices are high. The number of lanes does not matter here, since bowling is a pleasant addition to the communication of wealthy people belonging to high society. All costs in this business format are covered by an annual subscription fee.
Interior
Bowling is a meeting place for different people, so you need to create a special atmosphere in such an establishment. If there are no annoying factors here, visitors will come to your club again and bring their friends or relatives.
The level of service has a great influence on customer loyalty. Even the most luxurious interior and expensive equipment will not be able to keep a person if someone from the staff has rude to him. The popularity of the establishment is made up of small details that need to be taken into account in the bowling club business plan.
If you are renting a room not in a separate building, you need to take care of sound insulation. This is especially true for the engine room. These clubs use artificial lighting. These can be pendant chandeliers or recessed lights.
Equipment
Before opening a bowling alley, you need to decide on the choice of equipment and accessories:
The lanes and everything that is necessary for their operation - pinspotters, ball return systems, etc. At first, you can open a bowling alley for 4 lanes. If this is not enough, you can gradually increase their number. It all depends on how many people will attend your club. For example, in a large metropolis, you can install 20-30 tracks, but in a small provincial town, the installation of such equipment is pointless.
- Reading equipment. When ordering five or more tracks, many manufacturers offer these systems free of charge;
- Tables and chairs should be placed near the paths so that players can rest a little during the game.
The main element in bowling equipment is the pinspotter. This is a rather complex mechanism that collects and arranges the sold pins. Previously, this difficult and sometimes even dangerous work was performed by service personnel. This fixture consists of 3 thousand parts, so it must be reliable and durable. The complete set also includes an automatic ball return system and a scoring system. The paths are covered with wood or artificial materials. Wood looks more solid, but it is short-lived, so experts recommend using a synthetic coating.
Bowling center equipment is produced in America and China. The cost includes planning the premises, installation and service. The size of the area on which the bowling lanes will be mounted depends on their number. For 10 tracks, you will need at least 700-800 sq. meters. This area will be equipped with a take-off area, pinsetters and the tracks themselves. In addition, tables and chairs should be placed so players can rest a bit.
Staff
To work in a bowling club, you need to hire the following specialists:- Mechanic;
- Administrator;
- Trainers;
- Bartender;
- Waiters;
- Security guard.
The number of employees depends on the size of your establishment. You can hire people with no experience as the equipment vendors offer free training.
The bowling club has its own kitchen and bar. The sale of food and drinks accounts for a quarter of the institution's profits, since people come here to relax, not play sports. Try to hire an experienced chef who will cook simple, tasty meals.
Financial investments
Now let's calculate how much it costs to open a bowling alley. If we speak in round numbers, you will need at least 5 million rubles. The final amount depends on the size of the establishment and the quality of the equipment. To find out the exact figure, you need to draw up a detailed bowling club business plan with calculations.
The biggest cost in this business is the purchase of play equipment. One track with installation will cost you at least 1 million rubles. To keep costs down at the start, you can try looking for used equipment. In this case, you will save about 40% of the total cost of new equipment. A set of American-made equipment for arranging one track will cost you 1 million rubles. Chinese equipment is cheaper, but it is not of good quality. When purchasing equipment, be sure to check its functionality.
To attract customers to your business, you need good advertising. You will have to pay 150 thousand rubles a month to rent advertising space. Remember to include these costs in your bowling alley business plan.
If the area of the room allows you to install several billiard tables, do not miss this opportunity. One play set will cost you 60 thousand rubles. In addition, it is necessary to allocate 100 thousand rubles for the purchase of food and drinks for the bar.
If you want your bowling club to generate a good income, you shouldn't skimp on opening it. Remember, the most important thing in this business is style, reputation and quality. Of course, every aspiring entrepreneur wants to get a good return with minimal investment. This business requires serious financial investments, but it has a quick payback. Bowling equipment from different manufacturers differs in price and functionality. It is important to find the best option that is ideal for your club. If you plan to run tournaments, you need to make a double number of lanes. You should also be aware that the same number of employees will have to be hired to service both two and six lanes. This is an important nuance that will help you correctly calculate all costs. For the business to pay off quickly, you need to equip at least 10 tracks. At the same time, try to keep them loaded at least 8 hours a day. This can be achieved in any establishment, if you put good discounts on the game during the daytime.
Related Videos Related Videos
Profit
After you determine how much it costs to open a bowling alley, you can try to calculate how much profit it will bring. As you can see from practice, one track is occupied 6-8 hours a day. One hour of the game costs about 800 rubles on weekends and holidays. Since the number of visitors decreases significantly on weekdays, special promotions are held in many clubs. To attract customers, operators offer tracks for 200-300 rubles per hour.
Experts have calculated that over weekends and holidays one track brings about 750 thousand rubles in profit per year. Another 350 thousand rubles of proceeds can be received from the same path on weekdays. That is, for the year, the profit from one track will be 1.1 million rubles. Based on these calculations, one can understand that bowling as a business is distinguished by high profitability and high profitability.
When developing a business plan for opening a bowling alley, you need to take into account that such clubs are mainly visited by sober companies. On weekends, families with children often relax in such establishments, so you need to include various sweets in the bar menu. More often than not, parents do not spare money for their children and buy whatever they want.
Offer your customers club passes. Many people believe that bowling is a rewarding and fun sport at the same time. They constantly go to the club, invite their friends there and hold competitions. The club's management should support such visitors, for example, handing over to the winners token prizes or gifts.
Profitability
Recently, the business idea of bowling has attracted the attention of many aspiring entrepreneurs. This entertainment is gaining popularity every year, which means that the profitability of such an establishment will constantly grow. Before starting a bowling alley from scratch, you need to think about what kind of visitors it will be designed for. These can be elite clients or ordinary youth. You can place your bowling club in a large shopping center or in some separate premises. The largest profit is brought by an institution oriented to the middle class with a payment of 500 rubles per track per hour.
If we talk about the profitability of such a business, this figure ranges from 25-30%. In our country, this market segment is not yet oversaturated, so you can safely proceed to the implementation of such a profitable project.
* Calculations are based on average data for Russia
The profitability of such an undertaking can be very different, because if there were incorrect calculations, then it is unlikely to exceed 10%. If you imagine the full workload of your bowling club, then the profitability will be very high, because the bowling club can work even around the clock.
Bowling is one of the most popular leisure activities for city dwellers. You can play it with a group of people or just two, its rules are simple, and the cost of the game is affordable for many people, and given that the owners of bowling clubs offer discounts to schoolchildren and students, they often visit the club and bring considerable profit. However, there are difficulties, of course, in this direction, the main one being a fairly high level of competition, especially in big cities. It should be borne in mind that the work of a beginner bowling club at first will be focused on gaining a reputation, while no one in the city knows about the club, it will be difficult to compete with bowling clubs that have been operating for a long time. In general, such a business should be supported by a powerful marketing campaign; without promoting its services on the market, one cannot count on good profits, even if the club is located on the territory of a shopping and entertainment center.
By the way, it is worth noting that the construction of a bowling alley is a fairly costly event, but its popularity allows you to earn money in any case, if there are no competitors. And today in many small towns there is not a single bowling club, and you can consider the possibility of opening your own center on the periphery in order to get, at least for the first time, a very good profit. On the other hand, it can be afforded by a person who has several million rubles, while not expecting a return on his investment even in the first year of work. But nevertheless, it is worth considering the option of opening a bowling club in some not too big city, because in all megacities there are usually already many competitors, and the market does not lack the offer of such services. To get started, first it is worth registering as a business entity, here it is best to choose the form of a limited liability company, which belongs to non-public companies. The registration process is standard, the amount of the state fee is 4 thousand rubles. Difficulties may arise when obtaining permits from Rospotrebnadzor and other regulatory organizations, because the premises will be quite complex, complexly equipped, focused on a large number of visitors. But even here there are no special procedures.
The next step is to find a place to host your bowling club. The bowling alley must be equipped with power supply and lighting systems, which are subdivided into duty and special, with a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, hot and cold water supply, and, additionally, with sewerage. A separate security system is installed, the most important part of which is the fire alarm. The operating temperature in the playing area should be maintained in the range of 18.5 - 21 degrees Celsius, and the average humidity should be 40%.
The bowling equipment is located on a rectangular area, the dimensions of which are based on the number of lanes to be installed and the location of the equipment for the seating area for the players, the exact dimensions of the area can be obtained from the equipment supplier (who usually installs it). But now, for example, several indicators can be cited - one track requires an area about 2.12 meters wide, for a site with 10 tracks - about 17 meters. Further - the standard length of the track is about 25 meters, and you need to understand that this is the take-off zone, the track itself and the machine for setting the pins, better known as the pinspotter. To determine the full length, it is necessary to add to this dimension the size of the passage for servicing the pinspotter at least 1.3 meters, as well as a place for seating for players - from 3 meters. It turns out that the area of the playing area for one track is 160.5 m 2, but for 10 tracks - 532.5 m 2.
Under the entire bowling alley, a solid and smooth floor must be laid, which is made with reinforcement according to the state standard. There are also requirements for the withstand load, in the area of the tracks it must be at least 300 kg / m2, in the area of mechanisms - 450 kg / m2, in the recreation area - 400 kg / m2. Special requirements apply to the technical room. It must be connected to the engine room and designed to store spare parts and consumables that are used in the operation of the equipment. It is important that sound and vibration insulation is installed, and the electrical requirements include, among other things, the installation of a stabilizer.
Separately, a territory is needed to accommodate the reception desk; in addition to a simple working area for two employees, this place also includes a place for storing shoes. For this it is necessary to allocate from 30 m 2, about 80 m 2 is allocated to the technical zone, it follows that the bowling area starts from 270 m 2 for one lane.
The cost of renting such a room, of course, will be very high, and renting a bowling alley is often impractical, because this is a complex mechanism that is installed with connection to all systems of the entire building. In this regard, the owner of the bowling alley often invests in the construction of his premises, that is, it belongs to him by right of ownership (meaning the case when the bowling alley is located on some floor of the mall).
Ready-made ideas for your business
Bowling in a separate building will cost even more, because you have to build this building. In any case, you need to count on several million rubles, and often more than 10 million. If, nevertheless, we consider the option of renting, then the cost of one square meter in an average shopping and entertainment center starts from a thousand rubles a month, but usually amounts to 1.5-2 thousand rubles, and in megacities it is even more expensive.
It is also very important to determine exactly how many lanes you need for your bowling alley. It is clear that one lane is usually too few, queues cannot be avoided, and customers will eventually go to competitors, where you can always rent a lane at any convenient time; at the same time, having built them, for example, more than a dozen, one may face a situation when a significant part of them is idle, but you have to pay for rent and their maintenance - hence the loss of the entire enterprise. But there is no formula for determining the number of tracks, you need to study the market, focus on how many people live in the village and approximately how many are potential customers. You also need to understand that bowling is a way of spending leisure time, which means that during the daytime on weekdays there are usually too few visitors, but on weekends and the day before, as well as in the evening, there is a lack of capacity. People do not like to wait, and usually a person can wait a maximum of 20 minutes before the path is free.
An average bowling club has seven lanes, large centers build 10-15 lanes, but bowling, in which there are only 4 lanes, can also be successful. An entrepreneur must take many factors into account when drawing up his business plan, and if you initially build a small center, then you need to at least have opportunities to further expand your territory.
The next point is the search for an organization that will install bowling equipment. Usually companies make a small discount for one track if they order several of them for installation. A ready-made set of equipment costs about 2.3-2.4 million rubles only for one track, the cost of installation for one track is additionally paid - about 180 thousand rubles more. This amount includes the price of all necessary systems, including not only the pinspotter itself, but also other devices such as an electronic counting system. That is, this includes the price of the software that serves the entire bowling center.
Ready-made ideas for your business
Additionally, equipment is purchased for the reception desk, for the locker room, furniture is purchased - this can cost an entrepreneur 100-200 thousand rubles, and, if necessary, a design project is ordered (about 1.5 thousand rubles per square meter of area). You also need to buy balls and pins, a set of pins costs about one and a half thousand rubles, only for one lane you need to buy several sets, but balls are much more complicated. One ball costs on average about 2 thousand rubles, for one track they must also be bought in a set, so that there are balls of different masses. Many equipment suppliers even offer different designs of balls, for example, they can be simple classic ones, or they can be multi-colored or even made in the colors of the company. You also need to buy sets of shoes, because you can play bowling only in special shoes, otherwise you will have to constantly change the coating.
One pair of shoes costs about 1.5 thousand rubles, although sometimes it costs much more, you will also have to buy them on the basis of only one lane of several pairs, and sometimes quite a lot, because if a company of people comes, then each of them needs to be allocated shoes, and some people may have the same shoe size. Some more money needs to be allocated to purchase spare parts and consumables to maintain their tracks, but this is usually a small amount. Equipment and accessory suppliers may supply cleaning devices as well as mechanisms that require replacement at regular intervals. However, depreciation allowances allow for the replacement of worn-out equipment.
To work, you need to hire a lot of people, because bowling club maintenance requires a lot of effort. For a small club, however, it is enough to find 2-3 people of service personnel, each of them will receive 15-20 thousand rubles a month, more people need to be hired so that they work at the checkout and on the issue of shoes, here you usually need not more than three employees regardless of the size of the bowling center, only the largest ones may need to hire additional personnel for such positions. Such people receive an average of 25 thousand rubles each.
For 30 thousand rubles a month, you can find an administrator who will be the head of all other staff, who will resolve all issues with visitors. Further, if necessary, specialists are accepted who are engaged in the promotion of the company's services, but the entrepreneur himself can engage in such activities. Or he can just be a leader.
All business processes that are not related to making a profit by the organization can be outsourced. The marketing campaign uses ATL techniques, but a bowling club located in a shopping and entertainment center can count on a certain flow of visitors simply because the traffic in such places is always high. And if you order advertising, then a large number of people will learn about bowling, and people will come to the shopping and entertainment center even just for bowling. If you have the means, you can create your own website where you can post the schedule, as well as provide customers with the ability to book tracks. In general, at first there may not be enough visitors, but if the marketing strategy is correct, then already in the first months of work there will be many clients, at least in order to cover their costs.
Ready-made ideas for your business
As already noted, the cost of an hour of play varies greatly depending on the time of day and whether it is a day off or a weekday. During the holidays, the cost of the game usually rises as well. The price can also differ in different establishments, and the bowling club can be targeted at a different contingent of consumers. For example, there are bowling centers that offer favorable prices, because the calculation goes to students and schoolchildren, but it is profitable for the enterprise that a lot of people always come.
There are family bowling centers and vice versa, those that are designed for wealthy people. But nevertheless, the easiest way is to create such a club that almost everyone can come to, and for this, a strong price difference is established at different times. The highest price is usually 800 rubles for one hour of play on the track, less often it exceeds one thousand rubles, but can reach 200 rubles per hour at a time when there are usually few visitors. It really works, as many cannot afford to pay such a high price, even if they come in groups.
Another bowling club can offer its regular visitors club cards, which imply a discount on services. A bowling club, by the way, can earn additional funds for the provision of additional services, in some establishments there may be a bar, and sometimes even billiard tables are additionally installed; however, this usually applies to those bowling alleys that are to some extent entertainment centers or are simply located on the territory of the mall.
As a result, the profitability of such an undertaking can be very different, because if there were incorrect calculations, then it is unlikely to exceed 10%, but in any case it depends on a huge number of factors. The bowling club earns precisely due to the fact that a lot of people visit it. If you imagine the full workload of your bowling club, then the profitability will be very high, because the bowling club can even work around the clock (but then you will have to hire additional staff to service). Let's imagine that the average cost of an hour is 500 rubles, then in 30 days with a twenty-four hour workload, the income will be 360 thousand rubles from one track alone. Let's take 10 tracks for the calculation - then the income will be 3.6 million rubles.
With a workload of only half - 1.8 million. The rental price will be 964 thousand 500 rubles at a price per square meter. Six people working for 20 thousand rubles (service personnel), six more people working for 25 thousand rubles (cashiers and employees serving customers), 2 more managers receiving 30 thousand rubles each - a total of 330 thousand rubles. Other expenses include payment for outsourcing services, maintenance of their cars, but it is unlikely that their amount will exceed 50 thousand rubles. Roughly, the cost is about 1.3 million, that is, the amount of operating profit is about half a million. With such indicators, the profitability is already above 25%. Of course, these are all too average calculations, especially since not every bowling club has such an attendance. Thus, we can say that opening a bowling alley is a rather profitable direction, but it requires considerable investments, and also has a very long payback period.
Matthias Laudanum
(c) - portal of business plans and guides for starting a small business
208 people are studying this business today.
For 30 days, 93925 times were interested in this business.
Calculator for calculating the profitability of this business
A small indoor skating rink will cost about 10-15 million rubles. If everything goes well, then one such skating rink can bring from 4 to 8 million rubles per season.
Investments in the opening of the ice rink will amount to RUB 3,856,900. The expected seasonal revenue is RUB 8.97 mln. Net profit - 5.36 million rubles. The profitability is 59.78%.
Investments in the project will amount to 150 million rubles. The estimated launch date for the project is 12 months. The payback period of the water park will be 51 months. The discounted payback period is 64 months.
How to earn 500 thousand rubles in the summer season? Buy an inflatable trampoline and install it in a crowded place. Even an entrepreneur without experience can cope with such a task.
For a successful start of a business for the production of children's playgrounds, you will need at least 5 million rubles. The payback period for such a business is about two years, the yield is 30-40% per annum ...
Despite the fact that the costs of opening a bowling club are high - from 300 thousand to 3 million dollars - with a successful combination of circumstances and competent management, they can be “recaptured” in one year. In large cities of Russia there are already quite a few players who are ready to easily part with 300-700 rubles per hour for renting one track.
Past and present
According to experts, twenty-five years ago there were only two bowling halls in our country - one in Central Asia, which is greedy for luxury, and the other in the advanced Baltic states. In the year of the Moscow Olympics, a third was added to them, which appeared in the capital's hotel "Cosmos". The first real commercial bowling alley was "Alex", opened in 1997 and, by the way, is still working in the Central House of Tourists.
From that moment on, the "dam burst": decent money "flowed" into bowling as a business. In the pre-crisis times, the recipe for commercial success was very simple: the main thing was to find a suitable room, install new (and more often, refurbished) equipment, and all funds could be “recouped” in a year. After all, an hour of renting a track cost the client at least $ 50.
Now, of course, the profitability of the business is an order of magnitude lower, but all the same, according to Pavel Primak, who manages the Planet Bowling chain of bowling clubs, it remains very decent - at least 25%. In Moscow, once every two or three months, one new club still appears.
According to Andrey Shitlin, XL club manager, there are now more than 70 clubs operating in the capital. These are only clubs open to everyone. And there is also a mass of corporate, scattered across the offices and country estates of the "new Russians". In general, the total number of lanes, in which the capacity of the bowling market is traditionally measured, in Moscow is approaching a thousand (across the country - to two thousand). Is it a lot or a little? According to statistics, there are 2,000 people for each lane in the United States, and 10,000 people in Europe. And we have as much as 72,000! Thus, the market is still very far from saturation.
It is not difficult to calculate how much money Muscovites leave in bowling clubs annually. On average, an hour of renting a track costs from 300 rubles in the daytime to 700 rubles after 6 pm.
“Every month, fourteen tracks in our club give us about two million rubles,” says Andrey Shitlin. - And all the metropolitan clubs have approximately the same volumes. It turns out that Muscovites and guests of the capital annually spend about $ 57 million in bowling clubs.
Other market participants agree with the order of figures, as well as the fact that its capacity is far from being exhausted even in Moscow, not to mention the provinces.
As experts admit, the dynamics of bowling development is directly related to the growth of the population's well-being, because the main consumer of such entertainment is the middle class. Considering that Russians' incomes are growing faster than GDP growth, bowling can be predicted for the most brilliant future.
Until now, in almost all Moscow clubs in the evening, even on weekdays, it is advisable to book a track in advance, like a table in a prestigious restaurant. According to Mikhail Chizhikov, vice-president of the Sports Bowling Federation of Russia, the bowling industry ranks third in the world in terms of profitability among legal types of business after gambling and oil.
Regional expansion
If at first the construction of bowling clubs, as relatively expensive establishments, was carried out exclusively in the center of Moscow, then after 1998, when prices fell three to four times, clubs began to open in residential areas. As a result, even now, in some places on the outskirts of the capital, bowling alleys are practically opposite each other. According to Georgy Ryabokon, General Director of VPSProgress, a supplier of bowling equipment for Zhonglu, if you look at the map of the city, the uneven distribution of clubs immediately catches your eye: “For example, there are five clubs per square kilometer in the area of the Belorussky railway station, and in the northeast there are practically none ”.
“Four establishments have opened on one street in Maryino, and therefore a number of them have already had problems with occupancy,” says Pavel Primak. - At the same time, there are areas where there are not enough clubs. In our business, it is the location that more than half ensures commercial success - if before people were ready to go even to the other end of the city, now everyone prefers to relax at their place of residence.
As all market participants admit, the lack of premises is one of the main problems hindering the development of the entire business. Moreover, finding a suitable area for bowling is much more problematic than for the same supermarket or discotheque, due to the strict standards for the overall dimensions of the tracks.
- To open a club with ten tracks, you need 1.5 thousand square meters. meters, without columns and other bridges, - says Pavel Primak. - Therefore, the "old" solution - reworking the shops of the former enterprises - no longer works. Suitable premises in good locations have long been dismantled. We keep looking for them, but so far without much success.
Building a premise from scratch is too expensive, and not every club owner will decide on such costs.
One of the few ways to find premises for a club is to rent (or buy) it in large shopping centers (or malls). It is also justified to place a bowling alley at a hotel, hotel or casino (as, for example, in the Golden Palace), which will always provide an influx of customers without additional advertising. It is always much more difficult and more expensive to promote a stand-alone club. But this is exactly the way Planet Bowling went.
- An ideal example of a good location is our club, which opened six months ago, just ten meters from the Kolomenskaya metro station. Driving or passing by, it is simply impossible not to notice it, - says Pavel Primak.
The question of "promotion" of the club is the second most difficult after the placement. All bowling owners are unanimous: advertising in newspapers and magazines is ineffective, and advertising on the radio is too expensive. According to Pavel Primak, the main clients of the club are residents of the surrounding areas or passing by. The most effective advertising is local.
According to Andrey Shitlin, after last year they ordered a banner across the street opposite the club, which cost $ 3.5 thousand per month, the number of visitors immediately increased by 10%.
It is much easier to find premises in regions that are still an "unplowed field" for bowling. For example, now Planet Bowling is simultaneously building five clubs in Volgograd, Novosibirsk and Rostov-on-Don.
It is in the regions, according to the forecasts of Pavel Primak and Georgy Ryabokon, that bowling clubs will begin to appear most actively in the near future. Although the costs of opening a club in the provinces are already approaching those in the capital.
“Everyone has grown wiser lately, for a penny, as before, you won't get an area in any big city,” says Pavel Primak. - But still it is 30-40% cheaper than in Moscow. For example, in Rostov for our club, we are rebuilding a former military plant, for 3.5 thousand square meters. meters of which we will place more than 20 tracks.
The movement of the bowling industry to the regions is directly dependent on the dynamics of the development of chain supermarkets and the construction of shopping malls: for them, the bowling club is becoming one of the main lessors. Club owners in the regions expect the same return on investment as in Moscow.
According to some estimates, more than 500 tracks are currently in Russia at the design, construction and installation stages alone. And in the next few years, a real boom is expected in the opening of bowling centers throughout the country.
Special Requirements
The standard bowling lane length is 25.41 m (including the take-off run, the lane itself and the pin-setting machine - pinspotter). Plus another 1-1.5 m will be occupied by the passage for servicing the pinspotters, as well as 3-5 m - a recreation area for players. The additional area is also "eaten up" by technical passages, a place for a bar and billiards.
The width of the hall is also determined based on the number of lanes. For two, 3.46 m are required, for 3 - 5.25 m, for 4 - 6.85 m, for 6 - 10.23 m, etc. In total, about 55 square meters per track. m (this is the minimum), and the height of the room cannot be lower than 4 m (for the players' comfort).
As Georgy Ryabokon recommends, it is better to refrain from the temptation to cut, albeit by a few centimeters, the standard length of the track. After all, a significant part of the profit clubs receive from professional players, for whom standards are extremely important.
A full-fledged bowling club is not only a few lanes, a set of balls and slippers, but also a whole infrastructure for recreation, where the visitor can spend the whole evening. That is why, when choosing a suitable room or building a new one, it is necessary to provide for convenient access roads from the side of highways and a place for parking cars.
The main piece of equipment is the pinspotter - a special and rather complicated mechanism for collecting and placing knocked-down pins. Before his invention, this laborious and rather dangerous operation had to be performed by a special person. There are more than three thousand different parts in the design of the pinspotter, and therefore the most important requirement for it is reliability and durability. The complete set also includes an automated ball return system (its conveyor runs under the platform deck); an automatic scoring system (its main component is a monitor on which points are displayed opposite the names of all players); track. To cover the paths, wood or synthetic materials are used - and if the former looks "more expensive", then experts recommend choosing the latter due to its durability.
Equipment of three world manufacturers is presented in Russia - two American companies, AMF and Brunswick, as well as Chinese Zhonglu. According to Georgy Ryabokon, Chinese-made tracks are practically not inferior in quality to American ones, and are significantly cheaper - $ 25-27 thousand.
A set of American equipment will cost the club owner $ 38-40 thousand. Despite the higher cost of equipment from the United States (compared to Chinese), it is bought more often in Russia. According to statistics, 165 out of 233 Russian bowling alleys are equipped with American equipment. Experts explain this by the fact that club owners prefer to spend a little more money, but be sure that the equipment will last a long time.
If you want to save up to a third of the cost, you can buy the so-called "refurbished" equipment. However, it does not come with a warranty.
Skittles without beer - money down the drain
According to market professionals, one track is usually loaded 6.5 hours a day in Moscow and 7.5-8.5 hours in the regions. For a year, it is able to bring from $ 50 thousand to $ 60 thousand. This is quite enough to recoup its cost, taking into account all costs.
But this is not all the money that bowling can bring.
According to Pavel Primak, a good bar with alcohol provides at least 40% of the club's profits. After all, up to 70% of bowling players are men, who directly associate the invitation to “drive the balls” with the offer to “drink a beer”.
But the billiard tables installed in many clubs do not bring significant profits, rather performing the function of additional entertainment: visitors to bowling clubs chase "small balls" only while waiting in line for the "big" ones.
- A good table for Russian billiards will cost $ 10 thousand, but the fee per hour of renting it is only 150-400 rubles, - says Pavel Primak. - So such a table will not pay off soon. Billiards fans gather in other places. We prefer to use the area to accommodate the maximum number of lanes or for the bar. And if only some corner remains by chance, we set up a billiard table.
Many clubs open on their territory small shops with branded paraphernalia for special connoisseurs of the game: balls (some of which cost $ 200), care products, special shoes, various accessories, T-shirts, souvenirs ... Of course, the profit from such highly specialized trade is small ( up to 5%), but the store is able to attract particularly subtle connoisseurs of the game. And they, as you know, do not skimp on any expenses.
- On average, the opening of one club with twenty lanes costs us $ 1-3 million, - says Pavel Primak.
A small club with six lanes, according to Georgy Ryabokon, can be opened for $ 300 thousand, of which half will go to the installation of special equipment, the rest - to repair and prepare the premises. In the latter case, the owners of bowling clubs show no less imagination than the organizers of night clubs. For example, the famous Moscow bowling alley COSMIK has installed 32 lanes on two floors, of which the first is bright and multi-colored, and the second is semi-dark, with ultraviolet illumination. There are two bars on each floor, huge monitors with live sports events and other bells and whistles. According to the most rough estimates, at least two million dollars were spent on such "delights".
All club owners advise against opening a bowling alley with less than ten lanes.
- The more the number of tracks, the lower the unit costs for each. For example, 18 people work in our club in three shifts on 14 lanes, but the same number of workers would be required, for example, for seven lanes, - says Andrey Shitlin.
In Russia, the majority of bowling club visitors are those who consider bowling as a form of entertainment or family recreation. The share of players who consider bowling a sport is no more than 10%. In the United States, the situation is exactly the opposite. The bulk of bowling club visitors are people united in teams (so-called "leagues") that compete with each other almost all year round. They buy out a membership card to visit the club for several months in advance, thereby bringing its owner a guaranteed income. Naturally, the sale of season tickets is more profitable than the sale of "one-time" tickets.
Experts believe that such a movement can also develop in our country. After all, the desire to defeat rivals is inherent in every player, regardless of the sport. Already, local tournaments are held in many Russian clubs, for which everyone is discounted by one or two thousand rubles. 70% of the prize pool goes to the winner, and 30% as commission goes to the owner of the club.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU EARN?
|
Check |
Dollars, wed. per month |
Percentage, wed. per month |
| Gross proceeds | 118000 | 100,0 |
| Including: - from the rental of tracks |
55000 | 46,6 |
| - from the bar and restaurant | 55000 | 46,6 |
| - from billiards and slot machines | 8000 | 6,8 |
| Expenses | 50500 | 42,8 |
| Including: - for rent of premises (1200 sq. M.) |
21000 | 17,8 |
| - for staff salaries | 10250 | 8,7 |
| - for advertising | 1500 | 1,3 |
| - for the purchase of products for the bar and restaurant | 13750 | 11,6 |
| - other expenses | 4000 | 3,4 |
| Income (excluding taxes) | 67500 | 57,2 |
A Moscow bowling club with 12 lanes, a bar, a restaurant, four billiard tables and four slot machines can count on such a result. At the same time, the average rental price for one track is $ 23 per hour. The calculation was made based on surveys of entrepreneurs.
Loading...
