By Joe F ucini
Traffic and
the Super Mall
Question: What does your arcade
need more than anything else?
Answer: Traffic, traffic and still
more traffic!
Let's face it, w ithout a high
volume of walk-in traffic, an ar-
cade's chances of making it are
about as good as a 4'2" Pygmy's
trying out for the Boston Celtics.
94
People feed coins to machines. The
more people, the more coins - and
the better an arcade's business.
Nowadays, no place has more
traffic than the enclosed super-malls
do . Sure the rent's astronomical,
but that's where the people are -
and that's just the kind of place an
arcade flourishes in .
A case in point is Red Baron
Amusements, Inc. The Milwaukee-
based company has 28 leased and
franchised arcades, all of which are
located in imposing, high-traffic
malls .
" We wouldn't think of putting an
arcade anywhere else," says Angus
Young, operations manager of the
five year old company. "We've
chosen to go with malls because
doing so offers many advantages
and eliminates a lot of problems ."
Red Baron's largest arcade is a
3000-square foot store in Dayton,
Ohio's gigantic Dayton Mall. The
Dayton arcade houses between 50
and 60 machines at anyone time,
and although its rent is a high $7 per
square foot, earnings more than
make up for it. Young estimates that
Red Baron's Dayton arcade grossed
more than $100,000 last year.
Young, who came to work for the
company in 1974, supports Red
Baron's "mall only" policy whole-
heartedly. "The most obvious bene-
fit is the traffic," he emphasized . " If
a mall has good anchor stores, you
can bet people are going to come
out . Also, malls are always holding
special events and shows. These
bring out people who aren't neces-
sarily there only to shop . These
people inevitably wind up playing
our machines ."
Aside from delivering sheer num-
bers of would-be game players, a
mall holds other delights for the
arcade operator. For one thing,
security is much less of a problem.
Malls are locked and heavily patrol-
led at night. Because of this, they
serve as a sort of " armed fortress,"
making it difficult for thieves and
vandals to enter an arcade after
operating hours .
If it's difficult for law breakers to
enter a mall at night, it's not much
easier for them to make their " get
away" during the day. Being
enclosed, malls don't provide the
available escape routes criminals
find in back alleys and side streets.
Another security advantage is the
"tree alert system " many large malls
employ today. In this system , a
description of a vandal, shoplifter or
robber is broadcast over CB radio or
walkie talkie to every merchant in
the mall, the mali's security force,
and the detectives at the anchor
stores. Through their broadcasts,
mall merchants and security per-
sonnel keep tabs on the perpetra-
tor's movements until he or she is
apprehended.
"I would say that the mall acts as
a buffer between the arcade and
troublemakers,"
noted
Young.
" Someone who 's up for trouble
finds the large malls intimidating,
November, 1977, PLAYMETtR