Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994 TAG: 9401250034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And neither city any longer fits General Cinemas' targeted market.
So Friday, Carmike strengthened its presence in both cities, and two others, by buying six theaters - 28 movie screens - from General Cinemas.
"We like that size market," said John Barwick III, vice president of finance for Carmike. "The exhibitors, there's several out there that key on major metropolitan areas - New York, L.A., Chicago - and we let them go, and go after the secondary markets."
General Cinemas is one of those companies. The former owner of the mall theaters is undergoing a "realignment of our position across the country," said Jay Shapiro, senior vice president for General Cinemas.
General Cinemas, based in Chestnut Hill, Mass., is trying to either protect or increase its market share in big cities, Shapiro said. General Cinemas operates 228 theaters, with 1,300 screens, and had total sales of $500 million last year.
Carmike now dominates both Roanoke and Lynchburg as an outlet for first-run movies. Its takeover of General Cinemas' operations at Valley View and Tanglewood malls gives it 17 screens in the Roanoke Valley, including those at the Salem Valley 8.
But Barwick said he did not expect that dominance to translate into higher rates for moviegoers.
Carmike had 1993 sales of $240 million and a net income of $12 million. The Columbus, Ga.-based company has 1,736 screens and is the leading movie exhibitor in the Southeast.
Wall Street analyst Nandita Parker said she expected Carmike to continue to gobble up theaters in mid-size cities. "Carmike is going to buy anything that's a small-town theater," she said, "and they have the money to do it."
Besides Roanoke and Lynchburg, Carmike's purchases Friday included theaters in Athens, Ga., and Huntington, W.Va.
by CNB