Japanese gaming company Sega Sammy Holdings has released further details of its concept for an integrated resort in Yokohama, including an artistic impression of the IR development and two new local partners.
A week after announcing a Strategic Business Alliance with UK architecture and design firm Foster + Partners, Sega Sammy unveiled two more partnerships related to its Japanese IR bid, most notably an agreement with marketing firm Katana to formulate a “Japanese-style IR business plan aiming for increased business success rates.”
“Katana will be fully integrated in all aspects of the project, from the business planning stages to the actual marketing phase,” Sega Sammy said.
Also on board is luxury Japanese restaurateur Kyoto Kitcho to develop plans for an authentic, luxury Japanese restaurant and inn at the company’s IR.
Sega Sammy said it has engaged Kyoto Kitcho to “design and produce restaurants and inns where people can enjoy classic Japanese cuisine in elegant spaces that accentuate the four seasons as core facilities that promote attractiveness for tourism.”
News of the new partnerships, which formed part of the company’s results announcement for the three months to 31 December 2019, were accompanied by an artist’s impression of the Yokohama IR depicting a collection of futuristic towers surrounded by exterior green areas on the Yokohama waterfront.
In the meantime, Sega Sammy’s Korean integrated resort Paradise City – a 45/55 partnership with Korea’s Paradise Co – saw losses widen in the most recent quarter despite a strong increase in casino sales.
Paradise City booked a 53.4% year-on-year increase in sales to KRW135 billion (US$114 million) in the third quarter of Sega Sammy’s fiscal year, pushing its total for the nine months through 31 December 2019 to KRW331 billion (US$280 million) compared with KRW213 billion 12 months earlier. Casino sales during that period grew 52.0% to KRW268.7 billion (US$227 million), but due to increased costs the company’s net loss increased slightly to KRW11.6 billion (US$9.8 million) from KRW10.6 billion through the same nine months in 2018.
It wasn’t all bad news on the income and profitability front though. Thanks to gains in both its pachinko and video gaming segments, Sega Sammy reported a 12.2% increase in group-wide net sales to ¥280.81 billion (US$2.56 billion), with profit attributable to owners of the company up from JPY 681 million (US$6.2 million) to JPY 22.99 billion (US$209.3 million).
The company also announced that its consolidated net profit for the full fiscal year ending 31 March 2020 is expected to reach JPY 21 billion (US$191 million), a 7.9 fold increase on the previous year and exceeding forecasts by JPY 6 billion.
