Ster-Kinekor

Ster Kinekor is a South African-based cinema company, and the country's biggest movie exhibitor by far. It owns 60-65% of the market, having 55 movie complexes making up 400 screens and 64000 seats, with 154 of those screens being state-of-the-art 3D cinemas.[1] It also has a few screens that can be able to exhibit movies in IMAX, including one found in Mall of Africa, which is South Africa's largest shopping mall ever built in a single phase.[2][3]

Its head office is currently located at the Ster-Kinekor Office Park in Sandton, Johannesburg.[4]

History

The company originated in 1969 when 20th Century Fox decided to sell off its South African theatre business to Sanlam, an insurance company. Sanlam had already been operating Ster Theatres and Ster Films under the Ster brand. Government regulation required that the two film companies be operated separately, and so the company name Kinekor was born to manage the newly acquired business.[5]

Throughout the 1970s, Kinekor embarked on a program of opening new cinemas across South Africa. However, due to the introduction of television in 1976, cinema attendances dropped. Because of this, the South African government then allowed Sanlam to merge its two theatres divisions, creating Ster-Kinekor.[6]

Despite poor market conditions, Ster-Kinekor continued its program of building high-quality cinema multiplexes, focusing on integrating cinemas into large retail and leisure developments.[7]

Expansion into Europe

The end of South Africa's isolation in 1994 also introduced a free market, allowing Ster-Kinekor to expand into foreign markets. Three company directors moved their base of operations to the United Kingdom and set up trading as Ster Century.[8]

The newly founded Ster Century entered into partnership with Assos Odeon, a cinema exhibition company in Greece, and opened its first multiplex cinema in 1998 under the name of Ster Odeon.

In 1999, Ster Century continued its expansion opening multiplex cinemas in Dublin, Ireland; Brno, Czech Republic; Wroclaw and Warsaw, Poland; and two sites in Budapest, Hungary. This trend continued in 2000, with two additional sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, and more in the UK (Edinburgh, Romford and Norwich), Spain, Montenegro, Greece, Slovakia, and Serbia.

Leaving Europe

By summer 2002, Ster Century had sold off its interests in Poland, Greece, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to concentrate on its UK business. Cinemas were opened in Leeds, Basingstoke, and Cardiff. Polish cinemas were sold to the Israeli company Cinema City International.

In 2003, Ster-Kinekor sold off its remaining European cinema interests with Ster Century's UK business being bought by Aurora Entertainment in a management buyout.

Competition

In South Africa, Ster-Kinekor holds the largest market share in its industry, with its primary competition being other South African cinema operators, Nu Metro Cinemas and CineCentre. Independent operators make up the rest of the market.[9]

References
  1. "Ster-Kinekor". www.sterkinekor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  2. "Ster-Kinekor & IMAX". www.imax.com. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  3. "Mall of Africa". Mall of Africa. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  4. "Contact Us." Ster-Kinekor. Retrieved on 27 September 2011. "Physical Address: Ster-Kinekor Office Park 185 Katherine Street Eastgate Ext.4 Sandton"
  5. "Ster-Kinekor". www.sterkinekor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  6. "Ster-Kinekor". www.sterkinekor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  7. "Ster-Kinekor". www.sterkinekor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  8. "Ster-Kinekor". www.sterkinekor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  9. Writer, Staff. "Ster-Kinekor vs Nu Metro: movie ticket prices in South Africa". Retrieved 2020-08-15.
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