Movie Shop Market Business Plan

Movie Shop Market Business Plan

Movie Shop Market Business Plan


Movie Shop Market Business Plan - Movie Shop Market Business Guide

Movie Shop Market Business Plan Overview

This Movie Shop Market Business Plan largely covers the small scale movie duplicating business. This as depicted by numerous stalls selling “Latest Movies” mostly at Ksh.50.

It is important to note that the business operates on a legal grey area since it involves infringing on the intellectual properties of others, in this case the producers of the movies.

Although the business has grown to a point of acceptance, and licenses are issued by local statutory bodies this does not discount the fact that duplicating movies without the permission of the rights owner is illegal, locally and internationally.

Still, for now the business is thriving, the legalities seem forgotten, it’s an investment opportunity and that’s how we look at it.

Competition & Survival

Distribution of Movie Shops in Nairobi  CBD ( Average )– 4 movie shops within every 50 meters radius, though with a bias towards the streets south of Kimathi Street. The highest concentration of movie shops is along Tom Mboya Street.

The section of River Road in Nairobi CBD between the junction of Luthuli Avenue and Ronald Ngala Street has also a very high concentration of movie shops. However these specialize in movie collections (8 in 1, 16 in 1, 20 in 1) packaged in colorful printed covers, rather than duplicating individual movies or series on order.

Also the shops tend to focus not on latest movies and series but instead curate collections based on genre or stars. Thus they may have the Billy Blanks Collection or Best Romantic Movies and so on.

Distribution of Movie Shops In Nairobi Estates ( Average) – 1 every 50 meters radius. Of course there are estates with a higher and lower number of movie shops. Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa, Kiambu, the density averages 2 every 100 meters with an average of 1 every 100 meters in the estates.

In former district headquarters, some which are presently county headquarters the average distribution is 1 every 100 meters. In such locations there are more people hawking or selling movie collections than they are individuals burning customized movies and series. There are also a high number of people selling DJ movies.

No. of Movie Shops that have closed in the last 1 year – 3 in every 10 movie shops close every year; this also includes shops which have transferred ownership.

No. of Movie Shops that have opened in the last 1 year –  4 in every 10 shops .

No. that have existed for over 1 year – 2 in every 10shops .

Every week in the Daily Nation newspapers classifieds there is an average of 5 movie shops advertised for sale. The number is 510 in internet classifieds. Sellers gives relocation and “to do something else” as the reasons for disposing their businesses. People selling businesses are unlikely to tell potential buyers they are selling because of low returns.

The fact that there is almost an equal number of movie shops opening as those closing down shows that the market is getting to a point of saturation. This means that though there exists opportunities in the business there is no room for exceptional growth. Income from the business will remain average if not dip, at least in the medium term.

The barriers to entry in the business are minimal. Depending on the location Ksh.150, 000 is enough to start the business. There are movie shops in some centers that have been started with Ksh.70, 000. Also the licenses required (see index for licenses, equipment and average prices) are relatively easy to acquire. Besides, no specialized technical skills are required to run the business. Anyone with basic education can run a movie shop.

Consequently with the barriers to entry being this low competition will continue to increase. The individual movie shop market share will continue to shrink, and revenue will stagnate in the long term. However marketing and distribution innovations can help overcome such constraints and turn a considerable profit, at least in the medium term. 

In a field as crowded and fluid, where it’s easy for a consumer to move from one vendor to another the first experience really matters. If a customer walks to a movie shop and finds all the movies she wants then she will likely be back. If she does not find what she wanted, then she promptly moves to the next shop, and forms a ‘negative’ impression of the first shop.


Download Movie Shop Market Business Plan / guide here