UA Cinemas This profile first apeared in Hong

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THE MARKET
Whether it is Brad Pitt as a gladiator, Reece
Witherspoon as a blonde lawyer or Tony Leung
and Andy Lau as triad policemen , few events beat
the thrill of seeing a good film. And here in Hong
Kong, no one understands that better than UA
Cinemas. With 38 movie screens in seven
location s throughout the territory, UA Cinemas
brings movie excitement to over five million
people annually. Home to world-class sound
systems and projection equipment, comfortable
high-back seating and great snacks, UA Cinemas
is the passport to a world of thrilling
entertainment.
More than just a local cinema chain, CA
Cinemas is also engaged in distributing films from
nearly every country in the world, including those
originating in Hong Kong. In fact. the company's
Hong Kong gross box office takings amount to
26 percent of the entire loca l cinema exhibition
industry.
ACHIEVEMENTS
UA Cinema Circuit Limited was the first company
to successfully introduce multiplex cinemas to the
Hong Kong market, when it opened the doors to
UA Shatin in February 1985. Originally a six­
screen cinema, in 1997 the ven ue was renovated
and expanded to include four additiona I theatres,
crea ting a ten-screen multiplex. An instant
success, today the cinema boasts an average
annual attendance of 1.5 million patrons and was
presented with the Superbrands seal in 2003 for
its ongoing efforts in the entertainment industry.
UA Cinemas was also the first movie chain to
introduce the concept of snack bars laden with
soft drinks, hot dogs, confectionary and freshly
popped popcorn to the Hong Kong market. UA
Cinemas sells more popcorn than any other Hong
Kong circuit, and is widely recognised as selling
the best popcorn in town .
But UA Cinemas ha s been responsible fo r
considerably more than just good popcorn and
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ntertain plus
multiple screens. Since the da y the company
introduced fully-automated projection rooms to
Hong Kong, UA Cinemas has been dedicated to
presenting best-of-breed lechnology imported
from the United States in e\'ery one of its thealres,
including Dolby digita l sound systems and
Christie projection equipment.
For nearl y twen ty years . li .-\ ba pioneered
new and innovati\'e service fo r its customers, and
1994 sa\\'
A C inemas inrroduce the
reyol utionary automated \'oice response ticket
service through a sister company, CityLine. Three
short years later the company launched
www.cityline.com.
which
provided
unprecedented levels of convenience to
moviegoers including Internet ticketing and
movie reviews. Since
then the system has
grown to operate over
100 telephone lines
and
simultaneously
houses a comprehensive
payment
gateway
system that can process
up to 50 cre dit card
payments at any given
time in a matter of
seconds. CityLine sells
approximately
one
million movie tickets
annually.
To guarantee the supply of quality movies,
Lark Films was established in February 2002 with
the sole purpose of acquiring international movies
for the chain such as Death Watch, The In-Laws,
Secondhand Lions and Taegukgi.
Far from resting on its laurels, UA Cinemas
continues to push the movie-going experience to
the limit. The company broke new ground with
the Director's Club concept, which is the ultimate
in cinema lUXury and provides a unique
oppoI1lmity to enjoy the glamour
ofmovies in privileged style. Based
in the Cityplaza shopping centre at
Tai Koo Shing, the UA Cityplaza
Cineplex houses two exclusive
theatre s that can be rented for
private viewing parties of up to 16
people. These two beautifully
appointed cinemas capture the
decadence of 1920s Hollywood,
with their art-de co design featuring
golden
walls,
extravagant
chandeliers and a domed ceiling.
Each of the 16 ultra-wide armchair­
style seats are specially imported from France and
stretch more than ten inches wider than those of
any other cinema in Hong Kong. They also feature
state-of-the-art Dolby Digital SRD; SDDS and
DTS sound technology and all movies are shown
on a Hurley Wide Format
Silver
Screen
to
guarantee the sharpest
image and the best
viewing experience. The
Director 's Club has
screened blockbusters
including Pearl Harbor,
Lord oj the Rings: the
Fellowship oj the Rings
and its sequel The Two
Towers and both Harry
Palter and the Sorcerer 5 Stone and Harry Paller
and the Chamber of Secrets, all playing to full
houses. The Director's Club was rewarded for its
efforts with a Luxury Superbrands seal of
approval earlier this year.
HISTORY
that spans Hong Kong , Kowloon , the New
Territories and Lantau. With comfortable seating
and good eye-to-screen visibility throughout the
theatre, UA Cinemas are also ideal for corporate
and special events. From
press conferences and
product launches to
annual meetings and
awards ceremonies, UA
Cinemas are the perfect
venue for any occasion.
Ranging
from
intimate seating of 123
seats up to the larger
scale of 570 seats, it is
easy to find a UA venue
that is exactly right for
even the most taxing
requirements. And with
pri vate catering available
on request, there is little
reason not to choose UA
Cinemas to host a
successful event.
But UA Cinemas recognises that venue isn't
everything and as such undertook the extensive
"Experience the Magic" customer service training
programme to make sure every member of staff
delivers the perfect blend of
attentiveness and discretion.
Ushering in a new era for the Hong Kong cinema
industry, 2 February 1985 saw a state-of-art
mUltiplex cinema named UA Shatin open its doors
for the first time. Critics deemed the new complex
too large , saying it was poorly located in a new
town and that there were not sufficient films to
supply all six screens. This could not have been
farther from the tlllth however, and the cinema
was a huge success from the first day, setting
global box-office records for both attendance and
admissions.
Having realised its vision that Hong Kong
patrons would embrace the Western-style
cinematic experience, UA Cinemas quickly
followed with two more complexes with the UA
Pacific Place and UA Whampoa cinemas opening
in 1989. In 1993 the company opened UA Times
Square in Causeway Bay, a four-screen cinema
that also revolutionised the movie-going
experience in Causeway Bay. Again, the cinema
was a smash success from the Grand Opening day.
In
1999,
UA
Cinemas opened UA
Tel ford, which is a five­
. ~' LoY~JLY ClUB
RECENT screen cinema in the high
DEVELOPMENTS traffic area in Telford
ANITA YU
Plaza in Kowloon Bay.
An
exciting moment is fast
000001 050 78
And completing its
approaching
the Hong Kong
Re gular member
current circuit, UA
cinema
industry.
UA
Exp. Dale : 25 SEPT 2004
Cinemas is set to open a new
Cinemas opened another
cinema in Langham Place,
five-plex cinema in
200 I. UA Cityplaza is
Mongkok , during October
2004, which is \videly
located in the prime
expected to become one of the finest locations in
retail environment in Tai Koo Shing, which is one
town over the coming years . And with the huge
of the most popular shopping malls in Hong
pedestrian traffic support in the Mongkok area,
Kong.
this cinema will definitely be another success
story for UA Cinemas.
THE PRODUCT
With 38 screens, UA Cinemas selects the world's
PROMOTION
hottest movies and presents them on a network
UA Cinemas has long understood the importance
of branding and has converted its name and
campaigns into vast revenue-generating
promotions over the years. From the original
slogan "Experience the Magic" to "Pure
Entertainment" and to the most recent
"Entertainment Plus", UA Cinemas has always
been committed to excellence and to providing
cinemagoers with a memorable movie
experience.
To build customer loyalty, in June 2003 UA
Cinemas launched the "UA Loyalty Club", which
----
aims to provide endless attractive offers to its
many members. Operating under the slogan
" Rewards*Unlimited", the UA Loyalty Club has
already successfully recruited over 60 ,000
members in only 11 months,
and
its
membership
recruitment system was
granted the "Intelligence 20"
Award from Intell igent
Enterprise Asia, Singapore.
BRAND VALUES
Since the company was
launched in Hong Kong
nearly two decades ago, UA
Cinemas has strived to
maintain
the
highest
standard of customer service
and courtesy. The chain has
brought more joy to
customers w ith innovative
movie promotions, lucky
draw competitions and now
its loyalty club. Boasting the
best trained and most qualified personnel in town,
the name UA, with its golden shining stars logo,
guarantees "Entertainment Plus" and value for
money.
THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT UACINEMAS o UA Cinemas is the only cinema chain in
Hong Kong selling chocolate-flavoured
popcorn
o UA
Loyalty Club is the first fully
automated cinema membership system in
Hong Kong
o UA Cinemas was awarded the inaugural
Superbrands award in 2003
o The
Director's Club was a\varded the
Luxury Superbrands seal in 2004
o UA Cinemas was recognised as a Caring
Company in 2004 for its seven
continuous years of financial support to
Ronald McDonald House Charities
o UA
Cinemas raises over HK$I million
annually for a host of charities including
Caring for Children Foundation and
ORBIS
o UA
Cinemas have hosted Hong Kong
Red Cross blood collection donations in
its cinemas for the past seven years
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