WHEN THINKING SMALL

CAN WORK WELL

The small ice lounge which opened in Britain recently might well start something when it comes to the ice lounge concept. Ice lounges or ice restaurants - in the case of the Middle East - can be found in most countries of the world and new installations are opening on a regular basis.

Only 20 ice blocks were used in the British lounge, the rest of the décor was provided by fake ice and snow. Only 15 visitors can enter the lounge at one time, yet they all have fun and enjoy the ‘ice experience’.

From an investors point of view, it all comes down to numbers and the return on investment. Some lounges pull up to 4000 visitors a week at a door price of $25 to $35 – that’s impressive.

On the other hand, the initial capital outlay can run into millions, so those figures need to be impressive. So thinking smaller may well be a viable alternative. Lower initial costs, far lower maintenance costs and admittedly, a much smaller attendance might well be a formula for success. It will certainly open up the ‘ice experience’ to a wider audience.