NOVEMBER 2015www.endeavourmagazine.com

INSPIRED BY YOUR SUCCESS

MovieTowneEntertainment Redefined

The MovieTowne brand is a cultural icon in the Caribbean and its name has become synonymous with the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. So far ahead of its time is this venture and so fierce is the drive of its CEO and founder, Derek Chin that it is set to become the standard of entertainment in The West Indies.

WRITTEN BY DAEMON SANDS

ENTERTAINMENT REDEFINED

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In addition to its outstanding natural beauty, the archipelagic republic, which lies off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean is one of the wealthiest countries in the region and on paper

enjoys a per-capita income many times higher than a majority of the surrounding islands, not to mention the wider Latin American continent.

An untouched gem, Trinidad and Tobago enjoys an abundance of oil and gas reserves, a naturally tropical environment and a vibrant, life-loving people who are making and have made significant strides to develop their nation to the point where the rest of the world are looking at this region of West Indies as one of the fastest growing economies.

Via a combination of Government initiatives aimed at diversifying the national economy and ever-increasing investment from private enterprise, Trinidad and Tobago is laying dominance to its rightful place as the central tourist hotspot of the West Indies. Much of the credit for this must be given to one of the most visionary and eccentric businessmen to come from the islands, Derek Chin; founder of MovieTowne.

Derek Alexander Chin, entrepreneur extraordinaire, enjoys an extremely dynamic and illustrious career as the Chairman/CEO of MovieTowne (Multicinemas Trinidad Limited); Trinidad Commercial Development Company Limited; and Dachin Enterprises. Aswell as being a highly motivating force in business development he is also a keen intellect having attended Trinity College and St. Mary’s College. He then went on to the University of Western Ontario, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. After a period serving as the Senior Auditor with KPMG, Canada, he returned to Trinidad in 1981, where he pioneered the Video Arcade Gaming Industry.

MOVIETOWNEMovieTowne is known as the premiere Cineplex, shopping

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A lush landscape, tempered with a prominent grace and a rich cultural heritage Trinidad and Tobago has formed the epitome of a welcoming Caribbean paradise.

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and entertainment brand of the region and since the opening of its flagship complex at Invaders Bay, Port-of-Spain in 2002, MovieTowne has successfully brought an authentic, high end silver screen experience to the Caribbean. It is no great surprise that MovieTowne has become synonymous with Trinidad and Tobago in the minds of all Caribbean islanders.

“The cinematic industry in Trinidad and Tobago was on its knees before MovieTowne came into being,” Derek explains, “People preferred DVD’s, VHS and Betamax at home to going to the cinema and considering the conditions of the old auditoriums it is no surprise. There was little or no variety in choice, the bathroom facilities were deplorable and it was a dowdy and intimidating experience. Customer service was also far from polished.”

MovieTowne’s emphasis on providing a flamboyant thematic cinema experience, state-of-the-art facilities, a wide selection of movies and exquisite customer service has quickly won over any sceptics who thought that this was perhaps an outlandish idea. But it is often the outlandish ideas that have the best drive.

“MovieTowne changed all this,” he continues, “I wanted to bring the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood to movie fans here on the islands and give people a real experience. Also I wanted

to introduce people to a far higher level of customer service than they were accustomed to. MovieTowne was ahead of its time and I believe we have really opened people’s eyes and changed their expectations.”

Over the decade following this, MovieTowne has expanded considerably and alongside its flagship complex in Port-of-Spain which is comprised of a 10-screen multiplex cinema, 28 retail outlets, eight kiosks, a PriceSmart US style shopping warehouse and exclusive hair salons, restaurants and cocktail bars, MovieTowne opened two further complexes. An eight-screen multiplex cinema at Price Plaza, Chauganas, and a four-screen multiplex cinema at Gulf City Mall in Tobago, also accompanied by a selection of shopping centres, entertainment facilities, and restaurants are now open for business.

“Our Cineplex is themed along the lines of Hollywood with the latest being a back drop of Jurassic Park with all the dinosaurs as an attraction,” Derek describes, “Including various life size models of Batman , Chewbacca from Star Wars, the Joker, Gollum and Shrek….these are just a part of our growing museum of film characters.”

The scale of MovieTowne’s success is such that the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported how MovieTowne has ‘contributed

towards enhancing the social and national fabric’ of the country for a variety of different reasons. As it is, Derek Chin has become somewhat of a folk hero in Trinidad and Tobago, an icon for young business people to aspire to be like.

“MovieTowne is more than a business, and is now a cultural, educational and charitable institution on the islands.”

INFLUENCE IN OTHER AREASA serial entrepreneur, over the years Derek has been intrinsic in

the creation of a number of business including a Telecom Security Services, one of Trinidad’s leading security firms, Sign Tech Limited - a Caribbean electronic sign innovator and the Ruby Tuesday, Wok Hay and Texas de Brazil local restaurant franchises. A keen horse racing enthusiast he is also responsible for the first Trinidad and Tobago online gambling system, but one of the key attributes to this man’s greatness is his continuous investment in people.

“We promote and fund youth education through film,” he explains, “We founded the Secondary Schools Short Film competition which enables film students to not only get specialist support and tutoring but win scholarships into higher education courses and we engage in much charitable work while investing in

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communities.” Through access to its Fiesta Plaza, MovieTowne has also provided a platform for many emerging artists to showcase and promote their talents, and for the last two years, MovieTowne has hosted the “Trinbago Kids Got Talent” competition. Through this competition children from different age categories have been able to showcase their talents to thousands of patrons and receive constructive feedback on how they can hone their talents from local professional artists. MovieTowne has also been a lead collaborator in promoting foreign cultures with film festivals and is involved in charitable activities.

“MovieTowne has been a wonderful addition to the islands.”

NEW DEVELOPMENTSThe spread of success continues, as Derek relates, “In Guyana

we are opening six screens to accommodate approximately 2000 patrons. HiloFoods is our anchor tenant with 55000sq ft super store but we have interest from other tenants such as Wendy’s and Ruby Tuesday, including a bank FCB, First branch in Guyana.

Construction has started with the piling works… In San Fernando we are the anchor for the proposed c3 shopping mall, a project owned by the JT Allum and Carlton Mack family of South

Trinidad. MovieTowne South will be 92,000sq feet of cinema and retail space and is probably going to be the nicest Cineplex of the whole chain so far, fitted with eight state of the art cinemas, digital and Dolby surround sound systems, 3D technology etc… thematic lay outs and maybe even a VIP section. “

Since its inception in 2002, MovieTowne has achieved consistent annual increases in attendance, which now total over 1 million patrons per year. Its world-class entertainment experiences are borne out of an attention to detail in executing its vision as well as a strict adherence to the highest standards of quality and the brand goes way beyond designed ambience, offering luxurious surroundings and welcoming service – all at a cost that is still less expensive than that of any movie outing in North America, offering citizens great value as an entertainment choice.

“The Guyana developed was initiated through efforts of the Government of Guyana to get me to invest there, and a 5th complex in South Trinidad is now in the final stages of planning and due to commence construction later this year,” says Derek Chin, “The Streets of the World project at Invaders Bay just behind the Port of Spain Movietowne is very important to me.”

As one of Derek’s daring projects, once completed, this will

change the attractiveness of Trinidad and Tobago making it a genuine tourist destination upon the same level as any found elsewhere.

“Trinibagonians have a loud to be proud of and this venture will make Trinidad the gem of the Caribbean.” He concludes.

MovieTowne is not just about watching movies. Trinidad and Tobago’s premier entertainment destination offers a vast array of restaurants, kids-entertainment-areas, boutique-stores and home goods stores all within walking distance of each other. The perfect opportunity for the parents to get some shopping done while the kids can be entertained at the cinema and/or arcade and afterwards everyone can meet up again for a meal at one of a long list of restaurants offering a wide selection of cuisine from authentic Caribbean dishes to Chinese to American burgers.

We have over 30 years experience, and have worked on many prestigious projects in Trinidad, both commercial and residential.

With newly renovated showrooms and helpful staff, our customers can expect to have a professional experience from their first step into our buildings.

It is important to us that the job be done right. Interior Harmony is your “Your Best Choice for Tiles”

Proud suppliers of quality materials to the MovieTowne chain of multiplex cinemas

Head Office and Showroom 19 Beetham Highway, Corner Pioneer Drive, Sea Lots

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

Phone: 1(868)627-3444, 1(868) 627-8453, 1(868) 623-3537 Fax:-(868) 623-5129, E-mail: interiorharmonytt@gmail.com

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