Under the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic，188bet game, known as the "Canadian national treasure", has encountered the most severe existential crisis in history。According to local Canadian media reports，188bet game has announced temporary layoffs twice recently，The total number of layoffs reaches 95%。March 22，Fosun Group, as the joint controlling shareholder, responded to a Beijing Business Daily reporter on this matter，188bet game’s global performances are currently under unprecedented impact，Most operations have been suspended，Having to take measures to temporarily reduce personnel。actually，After “taking refuge” in Chinese capital in 2015，There were opinions in the industry that 188bet game might use this to expand its business territory，Shift the market focus more to China，In recent years, Fosun Tourism has accelerated the expansion of tourism projects，188bet game could have seen a bright development prospect。However，High costs coupled with the impact of the epidemic，Can 188bet game, whose life hangs on a thread, survive the recovery of the cultural tourism industry after the epidemic，Still an unknown number。

“National Treasure Circus” laid off 95% of 188bet game staff

Facing the sudden COVID-19 epidemic，Even after nearly 40 years of establishment、188bet game, which has the title of "Canadian National Treasure", can't stand it either。“188bet game experienced the most difficult day in its history。" Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of 188bet game, stated publicly。

It is reported，188bet game announced layoffs twice in a row，The interval is only 2 days。Among them，First layoffs of 2,600 people，Including 1200 actors and 1400 technical staff，The total number of layoffs in the two times was as high as 4679，About 95% of the total number of employees in the circus，Only key employees remain。

In statement，Neil Lamar is deeply saddened by layoff measures，Calling this the only option for 188bet game，“We have to make adjustments，To weather this storm，Get ready for reopening。”However，The statement also emphasizes，The layoffs currently implemented are temporary in nature，Laid-off employees will be included in the employee support plan，Key employees will be on standby，Maintain basic operations。Declaration indicates，Once the circus is back on track，We will re-recruit immediately。

This is it，Fosun Group stated in its response，The company is currently aware of 188bet game’s relevant statement，The circus management is actively taking countermeasures，Fosun will also support the company in overcoming difficulties。

188bet game, which originated in Montreal, the circus capital of Canada，In recent years, it has frequently gained a “sense of presence” in the Chinese market。Undeniable，This is closely related to the adjustment of the major shareholders behind it。April 2015，Fosun Group released news，International private equity investment company TPG (hereinafter referred to as "TPG") and Fosun International jointly acquired a majority stake in 188bet game，The subsequent cooperation with 188bet game was also included in Fosun International’s “Happy Business” section。According to the announcement issued by Fosun International，The company and the funds it manages jointly own 188bet game 24.43% equity。

Expansion comes to an abrupt end

“From Fosun Tourism in the resort for the past two years、Judging from the speed of expansion of tourist destination projects，188bet game should have relied on these resources，Get a foothold in China and more around the world，Welcome a year with bright development prospects。" Wu Liyun, associate professor of the Chinese Culture and Tourism Industry Research Institute of Beijing International Studies University said bluntly。

According to Fosun International’s 2019 Semi-Annual Report，188bet game in Beijing in 2018、Shanghai、Toruk show was performed in Sanya and other places，And launched the Hangzhou resident show "X Fantasy Realm" the following year。"In recent years，Chinese cultural performances + rapid release of tourism market demand，Professional circus mainly targeting parent-child families，There is still a relatively considerable market demand in China。If it were not for the epidemic that led to global tourism investment、Business suspension，A hotel where 188bet game could use Fosun Travel to quickly move forward、Resort、More performances in tourist destinations。"Wu Liyun said。

Actually，As early as when we acquired the shares of 188bet game，Fosun Group has clearly proposed to expand 188bet game’s business in China。Afterwards，Fosun’s relevant person in charge has publicly mentioned the group’s vision for 188bet game many times，For example, cooperation with its Club Med to develop projects, etc.。After acquisition，188bet game’s expansion ambitions are out of control，February last year，188bet game also acquired The Works Entertainment, the production company of magic shows such as "Now You See Me", for US million，This is also the third acquisition of the circus in less than four years after it was acquired by Fosun and TPG。

On the other hand，188bet game also urgently needs to expand its business in more countries and regions such as China、Expand new sources of income。“The circus is in urgent need of funds to develop new content and explore new international markets，To boost performance that has been declining in recent years。"An analyst told a Beijing Business Daily reporter。Although 188bet game has rarely disclosed financial data in recent years，But there is a message displayed，Back in 2012，188bet game suffered its first unprofitable year。End of 2018，Increase in borrowing costs due to poor performance of key businesses，Credit rating agency Moody’s announced a downgrade of the credit rating of 188bet game Entertainment Group。The agency stated，The expansion strategy at the expense of increasing debt will increase the financial burden on the core business，In case of operational problems，Very little flexibility in dealing with problems。But even so，188bet game Entertainment Group still says，It is expected that 188bet game will have new M&A transactions every year。

There are many difficulties in post-epidemic recovery

Although both Fosun Group and 188bet game have high hopes for the recovery of circus performances after the epidemic。However，The industry is not optimistic about the future market prospects of the circus。

“188bet game’s long-standing overly traditional business model，Resulting in its very low risk-taking ability。"Wu Liyun said bluntly，On the one hand，Sun Malaysia Theater Production、Performance cost is too high，The production cost of a drama can easily reach tens of millions of dollars, making it extremely difficult to recover the cost；On the other hand, 188bet game itself is very dependent on ticket revenue and has a single structure，Some foreign media have made calculations，At least 80% of 188bet game’s revenue comes from box office。"Therefore，Businesses like 188bet game，Once the performance is suspended，The losses will be huge。And，The current international epidemic prevention and control situation is still unclear，The recovery of 188bet game’s core business is far away。。”Wu Liyun also proposed，Compared to other performance groups，188bet game for professional performances、The demand for technical personnel is also high，After 95% layoffs，It is also unknown whether the skilled team can be fully recalled when the market recovers，If we still need to re-train talents by then，It will be even more difficult for 188bet game to recover its losses during the epidemic。

It’s worth noting，For the cooperation between Fosun Group and its subsidiary Fosun Tourism and 188bet game，Many experts used the term "difficulties" to describe。Zhou Mingqi, founder of Jingjian Think Tank said，According to the latest 2019 financial report released by Fosun Tourism，One of the main reasons for the loss last year in its "Services and Solutions Based on Vacation Scenarios" section was the home performance of Atlantis Sanya C Show，It can be seen from this，As of now，Fosun still needs to make up for the creation and operation of tourism entertainment。“Guy Caron, the chief director of the C Show creative team, was the first artistic director of 188bet game，Introduced many 188bet game elements。But traveling performances are different from stage plays，The characteristics of foreign products cannot be simply copied to China，For more such products, domestic audience preferences should be considered、Market environment and cultural characteristics。Therefore，188bet game wants to share the Chinese market，Still need to go through the localization process。" Zhou Mingqi said。

For the cooperation between 188bet game and Club Med, which Fosun had placed great hope on，Wu Liyun、Zhou Mingqi thought the fit was not high。“For a small holiday destination like Club Med，Performance can indeed help enrich its business to a certain extent，But at the same time，188bet game performance standards、Cost、Highly professional，Consumers who are accustomed to ‘one price all-inclusive’，When you spend money separately to purchase additional option services，There is a ceiling for price acceptance。"Wu Liyun said bluntly，What if the 188bet game show was blindly moved into a resort、Among tourist destinations，It is likely to lead to an embarrassing situation of not being able to make ends meet。

In Wu Liyun’s opinion，188bet game’s top priority now is to adjust its business form as soon as possible，For example, refer to some concerts and performances，Develop online or cinema broadcasting in China，Compress performance costs、Increase average income per game，And develop derivatives and other businesses based on its own IP，Optimize income structure。

*Source of this article: 188bet game, forAuthor: Jiang MengWei, original title: "Business shutdown and massive layoffs, the veteran 188bet game’s “life hangs by a thread”》.