Recent，Merlin Entertainment Group、Shanghai Jinshan District Government、Corkby Investment Group、Chinese Culture Group Signing Agreement，Shanghai Legoland Resort, jointly built by four parties, officially landed in Jinshan District。

This project plans to invest 5.USD 500 million，Is one of the largest Legoland investments in the world。

And as early as four years ago，Contact for this project，Started negotiations 2 years ago，Why has the decision been finalized only recently？Asset-light or asset-heavy investment， Which way is the way to success in Legoland？Shanghai to Merlin Entertainment、What does it mean to the LEGO Group？

Outside Legoland，Madame Tussauds、The fun world of Peppa Pig、LEGOLAND Discovery Center, etc.，Already established in China，And still expanding，They all belong to Merlin Entertainment Group。

Merlin Entertainment’s business expansion in China，How to proceed next？

Recent，Exclusive interview with Merlin Entertainments Chief Operating Officer John Jacobson，Answers to the above questions。

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Site selection is the cornerstone of a theme park’s success.

Merlin Entertainments chief operating officer John Jacobson thinks，In the process of site selection for Legoland，Merlin pays more attention to the transportation accessibility of the target area or city、Consumer group potential and future scalability of the project。Simply put，Close enough for tourists、There are enough consumers and enough room for future expansion。

Merlin Entertainments Chief Operating Officer John Jacobson accepted an exclusive interview with Zhihui

He emphasized，There must be land reserves around the project，for future expansion，This is the most important place in the site selection process，"This way we will not expand to a certain extent and be constrained，Lost opportunity for expansion。”Based on experience，Merlin will generally introduce more attractions or entertainment facilities to Legoland according to different expansion needs，More hotel rooms can also be built，Added new projects like Lego Water Park，Add more entrances to the park，“There are still some things that we may not know about now in 5-15 years that need to be introduced to Legoland。So，Land banking is key to us，Conducive to future expansion，Is the key point in site selection。”

specifically to Legoland Shanghai，The Jinshan District where it is located is an hour’s drive from the center of Shanghai，Jiangsu within 2 hours’ drive、There are 55 million potential consumers in Zhejiang and Anhui，Become a huge traffic pool for this regional theme park。

Jacobson revealed，The Shanghai Legoland project is relatively consistent with the future planning vision of Jinshan District，This is also the reason why Legoland can be introduced。"In this collaborative project，We need a partner with local experience，” he added，On this project，We see that the Chinese government is committed to developing the service industry，Especially the tourism industry，Recognize that international brands and effective operating concepts contribute to the economic development of a region。We also realize，The government is cautious in approving such projects，And pay close attention to the sustainable development of the project。The strong support from the government can help us become familiar with various policies and regulations，Work with partners to optimize projects to speed up implementation。

Zhihui learned，Shanghai Legoland except project land，There is also land reserved for the second phase of development in the surrounding area。

Jacobson said，Merlin Entertainments owns Sealife, the world’s largest aquarium brand，This brand can be used for more than just interior branding，Can also be introduced to Legoland Resort，Legoland California now、Legoland Malaysia and other parks already have this brand，Provide tourists with differentiated park experience。

He also said，Legoland Water Park is also an entertainment project introduced in Legoland resorts that have opened around the world。Lego Water Park has now appeared in Malaysia、California、Legoland resorts such as Dubai，Planned to introduce a theme park in Italy next year，"Development reaches a certain stage in the future，In consultation with our partners，Legoland Water Park is the same as Legoland Hotel，It may also be introduced into Legoland Shanghai Resort，These projects are very popular among tourists。”

Why invest in building the world’s largest Legoland?

Public information display，Legoland officially announced in September this year that it will be located in the Meishan area of ​​Tianfu New District, Sichuan，The first paradise project in China，The opening date is planned for 2023，Same year as Legoland Shanghai。

But it’s different from Legoland Shanghai，This paradise project in Meishan is an asset-light output，The investor behind it is Chengdu Global Century Exhibition and Tourism Group Co., Ltd.，Convention and Exhibition、Real estate is its important business segment。

Jacobson revealed，Shanghai Legoland has a larger investment than any other Legoland in the world，When completed, it will become one of the largest Legoland parks in the world，“This shows our importance and confidence in the Chinese market。”Merlin Entertainments signed a project management contract agreement，Participate in the LEGOLAND project on two levels，First, as an investor，The second is as an operations manager。

Back in 2015，Merlin and Chinese Cultural have plans to cooperate in building Legoland in Shanghai，188bet online sports betting Since contacting Jinshan District in 2017 to the official announcement of the project，more than two years apart。It was previously reported，Merlin Entertainment proposes to expand projects in China with IP brand output、Operation management and other light asset models are the main ones，Similar to the Meishan project above，But Jinshan District requires heavy investment，Prolonging the project negotiation period。

The LEGO Group is considered a “key player” in bringing the project to fruition。

End of June this year， Lego Group parent company fund owner Kirkby joins hands with Blackstone Group, etc.，Conducted privatization joint acquisition of Merlin Entertainments，Colkeby holds 50% of the shares and officially became the largest shareholder of Merlin Entertainments on November 4，In turn, it promoted the implementation of the above projects。

However，Jacobson said，Shanghai Legoland Resort has nothing to do with the recent acquisition of Merlin Entertainments by Lego Group and Blackstone Group，Because we have been following this project for many years before this transaction。"In fact，Is there such an acquisition?，We will eventually sign the Shanghai Legoland project，But the major shareholder of the LEGO Group has given strong support，This is a project that is in line with the strategies of Merlin Entertainments and the LEGO Group。”

Colkeby is one of the main funders of the project。Through investment in Legoland，Can further develop LEGO’s brand influence in the Chinese market，Also actively promote good relations with the government。

As for the layout of more Legoland projects in China，Jacobson also affirmed。

Choose light mode or heavy mode?

“We are very cautious in choosing the light-heavy asset model，Considering many factors，There are many reasons for choosing the asset-light model。"Jacobson said，Because for us，Merlin’s core advantage is development、Design and Operations Management，We respect Chinese real estate development companies，But developing real estate is not our area of ​​expertise，This is what we have been looking for for those who are willing to take a certain risk to invest in theme parks，Reasons for a partner that perfectly combines its strengths with those of Merlin。

He said，This is with Merlin in New York、Other countries such as Germany encounter completely different situations。In these countries，We understand their investment model and market conditions，Know how to invest，Willing to bear certain investment risks，But the situation in China is different，Different investment models，Also involving private companies and local governments。"Based on this，We think，Local governments and private companies can lend their expertise，And Merlin can focus on providing its own advantageous skills。”

In his opinion，To make the overall operation of LEGOLAND Resort effective，Merlin needs a reliable partner who shares the same vision of sustainable development as Merlin。

He also said，For Merlin，188bet app download Legoland’s positioning is very clearly focused on parent-child families aged 2-12 years old，Not like Disney、Universal Studios like，To expand and attract young people and even people of all ages。

Direct confrontation with Shanghai Disney?

In Shanghai, where opportunities and risks have always been high, the standards are high，How Shanghai Legoland breaks out from fierce competition?

Jacobson said this，LEGOLAND Resort has its own core advantages，Not afraid of surrounding competition，Some of the existing Legoland parks were developed in some of the most competitive areas in the world。

For example, Legoland California, which opened in 1999, is an hour's drive south of Disneyland，Two hours drive from Universal Studios，It is also only a 40-minute drive from SeaWorld and Knott Berry Farm, a century-old theme park owned by Cedar Entertainment。A similar situation exists at Legoland Florida，Distance from Walt Disney World、Universal Studios and other theme parks are not far away。

Even so，Look at the public information，The above two Legoland parks are still operating well。A senior executive from Merlin Entertainments China previously stated，Legoland California has around 3 million visitors，Higher than Legoland Windsor in the UK (2.35 million), which was selected as the most visited by the "Global Theme Park Attendance Report"。

corresponds to Shanghai Legoland，It may be necessary to look at it comprehensively from several dimensions:

First, the degree to which Legoland’s core advantages are brought into play，And display space。Jacobson thinks，The characteristics of Legoland Resort are completely different from other theme parks、And an experience based on LEGO values，The core competitive advantage lies in the distinctive brand characteristics of education and entertainment、Strong interactivity and the real experience that LEGO IP brings to tourists。

He took 5-7 year old children as an example，The parents of many children may have grown up playing the LEGO brand when they were young，Or you still like the LEGO brand，The construction of Legoland resort will be a great attraction for this kind of parent-child families，This is a unique experience that other theme parks cannot provide。

How Shanghai Legoland builds on existing resources、Product，Integrate Chinese culture and other elements，Achieve corresponding "localization"，will be a big key。

The second is the degree of synergy with other products。Merlin Entertainment currently has 5 short-distance attraction products in Shanghai，Including Madame Tussauds、Peppa Pig’s Fun World, etc.，There will be certain synergy effects with Legoland。

Jacobson said，This synergy is manifested in two aspects，On the one hand, it is internal coordination，These parks and attractions may only need one financial system in the future、A logistics service center, etc.，Cooperation to save costs；On the other hand，From a consumer perspective，These attractions can achieve synergy in marketing，For example, launch season 188bet app passes or annual passes for all Merlin Entertainments attractions in Shanghai，There is even an annual pass that can visit all Merlin Entertainments attractions in China。

The third is the passenger flow level requirements or targets of Shanghai Legoland from the perspective of investment and operation， For example, both are million level，Two or three million and five million per year are naturally different，Difficulty of implementation varies。China’s two-child policy has a promoting effect on expanding the traffic pool，But as a regional theme park，Legoland is hard to avoid Shanghai Disney and other theme parks in Shanghai，Even the diversion pressure of other similar projects in the Yangtze River Delta。How to combine the above two dimensions to form effective competitiveness，At the same time, it effectively increases the repeat visit rate of regional passenger flow，will be the only test for this paradise。

International giants’ road to expansion in China

Disassemble the above information from a higher dimension，It’s not hard to find Merlin Entertainment，Judgment and intention on Shanghai market and Chinese market。

Jacobson said，Shanghai and Beijing are areas that Merlin attaches great importance to，Especially Shanghai，Five of the 12 short-distance attractions opened by Merlin Entertainments in China are located in Shanghai，Building Legoland in Shanghai has been Merlin’s dream for many years，Now this wish has finally come true。

In Zhihui’s view，The importance or strategic position of Shanghai to the Chinese market，Staying unchanged，Compared to Beijing，Radiate solely from the regional market、The depth and breadth of collaboration，It is difficult for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei to rival the Yangtze River Delta。Universal Studios earlier selected a location in China，Shanghai is the first choice，Later chose Beijing due to many factors。

Haichang Ocean Park、Huaqiang Fantawild、OCT Happy Valley、Hello Kitty and other domestic and foreign theme park players have entered Shanghai or the Yangtze River Delta area，The competition for card slots is obvious。

For those looking for a market in China that still has huge stock and growth to be tapped，Legoland must seek to expand its presence in more regions in China，Seize the market，At the same time, we must also secure positions in strategic areas as early as possible，Shanghai is the latter，The landing of paradise，Not just the need to seize the Shanghai and Yangtze River Delta markets，It has certain strategic significance for its expansion。These two aspects are very important to the entire LEGO brand，Same thing。

As the number of fans increases，The popularity of the LEGO brand in China is also growing rapidly year by year。Currently, the LEGO brand has a huge fan base in China，This number is still growing year by year。For such groups，LEGOLAND is more than just a park，But a "Lego Club"，The goal is to keep them coming back to LEGOLAND Resort for repeat visits。

At the same time，The fan base 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino also creates the possibility for other LEGO brands to expand in China。

Niels B, CEO of the LEGO Group. Christiansen recently revealed，Lego has opened 73 new stores in 16 cities in China in the past year，New stores will be opened in the future，Will reach the scale of opening 220 stores in 50 cities in China by the end of 2020，And more new stores will reach China’s third-tier cities。

Senior Vice President of the LEGO Group、Huang Guoqiang, general manager of China, also told the media，Second child policy、Consumption upgrades and continued sales growth have prompted LEGO to position the Chinese market as a strategic growth market。

According to public information，The LEGO Group has established 157 LEGO Education Authorized Activity Centers in China。LEGO Group financial report display，Lego’s performance in the Chinese market achieved double-digit growth last year，Major contribution to global business，China is also the fastest growing market for LEGO authorized stores worldwide。

Jacobson revealed，Merlin Entertainments is considering launching more projects elsewhere in China，Especially the implementation of short-distance scenic spot projects in the central region，Other places will gradually advance，“Whether it’s brand penetration，Still business expansion，Now is a great time to invest in the Chinese market。”

Analysis from the system dimension，Many products of the LEGO brand form a matrix，Not only improves brand awareness but also expands，Increase fan base，There is also the possibility of providing more customer flow channels for different products，For example, the national passenger flow of Shanghai Legoland，There is also the possibility of getting bigger。

Jacobson said，Lego relies on its many brands and the advantages of integrating indoor and outdoor areas，You can take advantage of the all-round layout to increase your influence in various regions，Thus connecting the entire network，Maximize synergy，“Merlin Entertainment plans to develop a system platform in the future，Provide a full range of services for attractions located in different places。”

In other words, Merlin Entertainment is not just deploying more projects in second- and third-tier cities in China，Compete against giants such as Disney with a dense brand portfolio，Carry out your own differentiated path。“From a higher level，Merlin is still approved in Japan、South Korea、China，Even planning in India in the future，Form its own unique advantages in the entire Asia-Pacific region。”he said。