[Sponsored Report] CJ CGV moves abroad, changes theater culture

CJ CGV is working to enter overseas markets using its exceptional know-how acquired from operations at home.

CJ, the chain’s parent company, has set its group-wide targets for sales at 100 trillion won ($90 billion) and operating profit at 10 trillion won. It also aims for overseas sales to take up 70 percent of the total.

In order to help the group achieve these targets by 2020, CJ CGV is working to transform itself into a multi-entertainment platform as a “cultureplex” with diverse offerings rather than simply a movie theater brand.

The company opened its first overseas theater in China in 2006 and now has 15 locations there.

In downtown Beijing, CGV Zhangtairu opened with CJ dining brands. The company’s efforts to change movie-watching culture seem to be pleasing Chinese consumers. CGV Daning, the first CGV in China, ranked first in customer satisfaction among Shanghai cinemas on Dianping.com just six months after opening. CGV Wuhan topped a city government ranking.

Expanding further, CJ CGV acquired Vietnam’s largest multiplex chain MegaStar Media Company in 2011, stepping into the market as No. 1. It now owns 78 screens and 10 theaters in Vietnam, shows at least six Korean movies a year, and holds the Vietnam-Korean Film Festival.

The company is planning to open 30 additional theaters in Vietnam by 2017 and is considering whether to introduce its multiplex entertainment platform in other Southeast Asian countries as well.

The first CGV in the United States, opened in 2010 is Los Angeles and has also received positive feedback. It received 4.5 out of five stars on Yelp, ranking as high as Hollywood’s premium theater chain Arclight.

CGV LA provides unique services such as Korean subtitles for U.S. films and English subtitles for Korean films. It aims to attract a wide variety of customers of all ages and cultures.