The opening of the third Fun City family entertainment centre in Pakistan, due this summer, has had to be delayed because of the effects of Covid-19, says managing director Kashif Ali.
“The government is encouraging people to keep their children at home,” he said. “Even schools are closed. While many businesses have now begun to reopen, we fear that FECs will be the last to be permitted to restart.”
His own operation, with FECs at the Giga Mall and the Centaurus Mall in Islamabad, was ready to start within 24 hours of being given permission to reopen. Meanwhile Ali and his staff have prepared a programme of measures to ensure public safety.
He added: “The virus will change the way that we do business; the way family entertainment centres operate. It has affected all businesses, but particularly FECs. We have all been closed since the middle of March and the impact has been immediate. It is basically zero cashflow for everyone.”
Fun City is the pioneer of FECs in Pakistan and will open its new centre as soon as it can. It is part of Kashif Ali’s plan to have an FEC in every major city of the country. “We will open a centre in Lahore in the Penta Square Mall and we are in the process of acquiring space in the Lyallpur Galleria, Faisalabad.”
