CGV aims to secure 10,000 screens in 11 countries by 2020

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- CJ CGV, South Korea's largest cinema chain, said Tuesday it aims to increase the number of its screens around the world to 10,000 in 11 countries by 2020.

"Based on the company's capabilities that have been built for the past 20 years, we'll lead the future-oriented cinema market and expand the notion of the cultureplex around the world," Seo Jung, CEO of the CJ CGV, said during a regular media forum on the local film industry at a theater in eastern Seoul.

"Cultureplex" refers to an all-embracing destination for film and other entertainment concepts.

The multiplex chain owned by the food and entertainment conglomerate CJ marks the 20th anniversary this year since the opening of its first location, CGV-Gangbyeon in Guui-dong in eastern Seoul. It has since developed into the world's fifth-largest cinema chain with 3,459 screens in 463 sites around the world. The number includes 1,117 screens in 151 sites in South Korea.

The company says the total number of its theater locations will likely cross 500 with its overseas sales expected to exceed domestic sales at the end of this year.

"The fact that overseas sales are outstripping the domestic market will be a significant momentum to achieve CGV's global vision of cultureplex," Seo said. "It's time to break away from the existing competition system and achieve a 'Blue Ocean Shift' of creating new markets."

He said the company aims to continue its global expansion to become a genuinely global cinema brand, with about 86 percent of its chain theaters located out of the country by 2020.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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