CELEBRATING CATHAY

Even though multiplexing in Asia is around 13 years young, certain Asian families have been involved in the exhibition business for over 70 years. Among them is one such extended family, the Loke and the Choo families, who grew from Associated Theatres in 1935 to the multi-national Cathay Organization Holdings, Ltd., operators of today's Cathay Cineplex--whose executive director, Meileen Choo, is this year's CineAsia Exhibitor of the Year.

Cathay Organization's history as a pioneer in movie entertainment began on July 18, 1935, when it was incorporated as Associated Theatres Ltd. It set up its first cinema, The Pavilion, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1936.

Cathay Organization started operating its first cinema in Singapore when it opened the Cathay Building in 1939 and revolutionized the moviegoing experience by being the first to offer air-conditioning and spacious seats.

In the '50s and '60s, under the guiding hand of the late Dato Loke Wan Tho, Cathay Organization expanded into film production, producing many award-winning and popular shows from both its Hong Kong and Singapore studios.

In 1965, Cathay Organization established Singapore's first public bowling center, Jackie's Bowl. Cathay Organization, then a major shareholder of Jackie's Bowl, diversified into the bowling arena by acquiring the remaining shares in Jackie's Bowl and operating it under the name of Orchard Bowl. The company was subsequently renamed Cathay Bowl Pte Ltd. in 1995.
By the 1970s, Cathay's cinema empire expanded to 75 cinemas in Singapore and Malaysia. It was also a reputable film distributor, with networks spanning Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and as far as Europe and Latin America. Meanwhile, Cathay Bowl, at its peak, was operating eight centers with 178 alleys.

Responding to the changing economic environment of the '80s, Cathay Organization consolidated its cinema business, selling out their cinema operations in Malaysia. In Singapore, Cathay closed the only drive-in cinema in Jurong and chose to move with the trends and operate only quality cineplexes offering a top-of-the-line cinematic experience. The company converted its stand-alone cinemas into multi-screens.

The '90s have seen Cathay Organization moving into other business areas. In July 1999, Cathay Organization became a publicly listed entity on the Singapore Stock Exchange with five subsidiaries under the parent company, Cathay Organization Holdings Ltd.

Today, Cathay Organization is a diversified group with core business activities in cinemas both in Singapore and Malaysia (having re-entered the Malaysian market in 1997), film acquisition, distribution and production, property-related management services, retail malls, a unique brand of hotels, an eco-camp, advertising and event management.

Executive director since 1985, Meileen Choo graciously spent time with Film Journal International recently, talking about her family and the dynamic Cathay Organization.

Film Journal International: Congratulations on winning Exhibitor of the Year. What do you feel are the unique qualities of Cathay theatres? What sets you apart from other exhibitors?
Meileen Choo: In the face of competition, I think our greatest strength is our ability to adapt, be innovative and make changes, to recognize our weaknesses and strengths and to dare to be different.
I am one person who does not believe that just because we have always done something successfully, we must continue to abide by that formula. The world changes and we must change with it, even if we have a winning formula. I am open to trying anything new after giving it due consideration. I believe that in this fast-moving world we must be quick to make changes and be the leader for others to follow.

FJI: How many theatres do you have now?
MC: In Singapore, we presently have 27 screens with 5,284 seats. In Malaysia, 28 screens with 6,159 seats for a total of 55 screens with 11,442 seats.
In May and November 2007, we will open two additional cineplexes in Singapore, In May, eight screens with 1,800 seats in Ang Mo Kio, and in November, six screens with 1,000 seats in the east downtown area.
By the end of 2007, at City Square in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, we will have an additional five screens for a total of 800 seats. At the end of next year, we will have a total of 74 screens with 15,043 seats in Singapore and Malaysia.

FJI: What are some unique marketing programs Cathay has undertaken?
MC: We have sales people who go out and target corporations to sell tickets in bulk. We target banks for redemption of points in loyalty programs by using cinema tickets. And we get sponsors who receive special privileges to use our cinemas for their own purposes during periods when there are no shows.
We also concentrate a lot on service. We are all showing the same movies--so what makes us different? We have to have a few things that will set us apart, and we spend a fair sum on training our staff.

FJI: Tell us about the state of the exhibition industry in Singapore and Malaysia. What are some of the unique problems?
MC: The state of the exhibition industry is healthy but very competitive. If you were to ask me to set up a chain of cinemas today, I would not. I would rather put my money in the bank. All the existing chains invested in cinemas a long time ago and we all have probably depreciated our capital cost already, so we continue.
One of the unseen long-term problems is the aging population of Singapore that is on a fast track. As we all know, in our industry the target audience is those aged 14 to 24 years. People often quote a factor of four times that Singaporeans go to the movies-well, four times a population of four million is just 16 million admissions.
Just remember that Singapore is a small city-state. In the U.S., people go maybe 1.5 times--multiply that by a 300 million population, and you get 450 million admissions. And people forget that if you compare apple to apple, i.e. the cities of L.A., New York and Chicago, I am sure the average number of times people go to the movies in these cities is more than 1.5.
Our market is very, very small. And it is not growing by leaps and bounds. It is just more of us sharing the same. Piracy is still a problem and we have just learnt to live with it.
We also need to watch out for the new innovations in technology. Singaporeans are very into high-tech and new technology. The fact that they may be able to download movies soon will have a big impact, I believe.
Kids will want to stay home to watch-our saving grace will be that they may want to get out to be away from their parents and to hang out with their friends, and what better place to do it than at the movies? And couples dating will still want to do that at the movies.

FJI: Do you feel the Asian exhibition industry has any particular difficulties or problems inherent to itself? And are there solutions?
MC: Rampant piracy is hard to snuff out. I don't have a solution for this except that governments have to be more vigilant and enforce intellectual-property rights.
Parallel imports should be stopped at the censors. If you are not the copyright owner, you should not be allowed to import the DVDs. This is a problem particular to Singapore--I am not sure about other countries. Another problem is dependency on U.S.-made films, although that is slowly changing.

FJI: What is your perspective on the growth of Asian film industries over the last few years? And the future challenges?
MC: I think the greatest problem out here is the lack of good scripts. But I am very glad to see an emerging Asian film industry in places like Korea, Japan, India and China. Even Thai and Malaysian films (though the latter is still localized) have done well. The greatest challenge is to make films that will capture an audience that has grown too used to slick American fare.

FJI: Ms. Choo, you have an amazing family history. Are you ever going to have a screenplay written on your family?
MC: No, my family has always been rather low-key and in deference to them I don't think it would be appropriate. I think many of them would rise from their graves if I did such a thing!

FJI: I understand that Cathay has recently opened a museum in Singapore which houses properties of your family and artifacts from the growth of the organization.
MC: The project is really exciting. It opened on October 2 in the Cathay Gallery on Handy Road in Singapore. It showcases the history of the Loke family, and their various business interests in Malaysia and Singapore, including the Cathay Organization, from the 1800s till now. These business interests included tin mines, plantations, real estate properties, film production studios, film distribution, hotels and cinemas.
This unique collection of memorabilia that the family has kept over the years includes items related to their business interests such as art and photography, as well as some personal items. We have memorabilia from our production studios and some of the local "stars" who made movies there.
Especially memorable are those items from Dato Loke Wan Tho, the man of many interests who propelled the Cathay Organization to success. He was particularly passionate about ornithology, literature, flora, fauna and the arts. He was a philanthropist and gave generously to many charities, associations and educational institutions. Dato Loke donated the mace (scepter of state) of the city of Singapore to the city council in 1954.
We also have a day-glo poster wall--large canvases (15 by 4.5 meters) made with rich day-glo colors of movies, which were the standard for advertising years back.