Play Meter

and the security force is often able
to stop things before they happen ."
Despite the hefty rent, malls do
offer several purely economic bene-
fits to arcade operators . To begin
with, you don't have to spend
money on promotions or compatible
businesses such as refreshments to
draw customers . Since most of the
stores who populate malls are part
of large retail chains, you can rest
assured that their advertising will
bring in all the customers you need.
An arcade can also get away with
keeping a few older games around,
even though they may have lost
some of their popularity, if it's
located in a popular mall. " Our
arcades fill up a lot because of the
mall traffic," says Young. " When
we're full, someone's bound to play
the older machines, simply because
they're the only ones available. Of
course, you couldn't keep too many
older machines around or you 'd lose
business. "
Red Baron is so high on the
super-mall that it will only locate in
ones with a million square feet of
space or more. " We wouldn't go
into a small enclosed mall , because
that would defeat the purpose of
being in a mall in the first place,"
explains Young .
The company always tries to be
playing , the line goes right past our
entrance, and people have someone
hold their place and play our
machines while they wait to get into
the movies," said Young .
Alas, all is not necessarily fun and
games (and profits) in a super-mall.
Most super-malls require a 10-15
year lease, and by now you know
their rents are expensive. So if your
arcade is located in a mall that fails,
and some do, you're stuck with high
rent and not as much traffic as you
expected.
All in all, though, malls can be a
gold mine for the arcade operator.
The traffic, the exposure, the
reduced vandalism, etc ., make them
too good to overlook, even with the
tremendous overhead .
So if you're thinking of opening a
new arcade, think mall . If malls are
too rich for your blood - well, still
think mall. Evaluate a prospective
arcade site in terms of how it
compares to a mall. Does it have
consumer-drawing shops nearby?
Are large national chains locating in
the area? Is the site too accessible or
are escape routes too available for
robbers, thieves and the like?
In the final analysis, a mall is good
for your business only if it offers
these advantages - and the same
goes for any other location too.
an original tenant of a mall ,
contacting the developer before
construction is completed . The
feeling is that "getting in on the
ground floor" allows Red Baron to
modify its stores to its specific
needs .
One thing the company always
looks for before deciding on locating
in a mall are the anchor stores. If a
large national department store
chain decides to set up shop in a
new mall , Young and Red Baron
president Dan Winter know it's go-
ing to be a good site .
" We knew this was going to be a
high traffic mall ," said Young,
speaking at the company's Dayton
arcade . " Sears, J.e. Penney, and
Federated decided to put stores
here. They do extensive market
research , so they know where the
consumers are going to be ."
Red Baron's arcade in the Dayton
Mall has several other good things
going for it. Across the corridor are
two movie theaters and a popular
pizzeria . Two more theaters are
located about 40 yards away. As
you probably guessed, the restau-
rant and movies draw an army of
teenagers. How's that for an arcade
operator's dream come true?
"When a movie that' s popular
with high school and college kids is
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