A Mexican edutainment business model: KidZania
Subject area 
 
 
 
 
Management of technology, technological innovation, business innovation and new product development, innovation, design and strategy, entrepreneurship innovation and leadership strategic planning of technological innovation. 
 
 
 
 
Study level/applicability 
 
 
 
 
MBA. 
 
 
 
 
Case overview 
 
 
 
 
KidZania® is a Mexican company of family entertainment centers, founded in 1996 by Luis Javier Laresgoiti Fernandez and fully developed by Xavier Lopez Ancona. An innovative concept inspired in a fusion of nursery and theme park, KidZania®, brings together strong brands as partners to support their own and offer a complete entertainment and educational experience to kids between two and 16 years old. A unique business model, involvement of experts and a committed board of directors has been the key to the innovation of KidZania®. Its managers, by 2011, operate eight centers – two in Mexico, two in Japan and the rest in Indonesia, Portugal, United Arab Emirates and South Korea – and have plans to expand to more countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe in 2011 and finally to the USA. The future of KidZania® seemed bright, and the manager of the company believed that the growth appeared unstoppable because the purpose was to grow on 100 percent. The strategy appeared clear: dominate in the emerging and consolidated markets (big cities) in order to strengthen its competitive position and then, enter the US market with all the muscle and take the lead in the biggest market. But what was the competition going to do about it? What will the moves be for big players like Walt Disney – which had revenues of US$38.06 billion (USSEC, 2010), for example? Will the competitors try to buy the new entrant in order to build it up or to disappear it? Or will they try to imitate KidZania®? What would be the future of this new edutainment business model? 
 
 
 
 
Expected learning outcomes 
 
 
 
 
This case has been used in executive and MBA courses in creating and sustaining innovation, recognizing disruptive technologies, and in identifying effective methods of marketing a new innovative business model. Instructors can use the case to achieve the following two learning objectives: the KidZania® case helps students to refine their understanding of the model of disruption. They are forced to look closely at the product/service and decide whether it is a disruptive innovation or a sustaining innovation. This close examination becomes a helpful tool as students think about what decisions they would make to secure the success of the KidZania® in the entertainment market. The KidZania® case allows students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of the model “skating to where the money is”. Based on their analysis of the company and product students, must decide whether the KidZania® is a business that will produce sustained revenue and is worth investing in. 
 
 
 
 
Supplementary materials 
 
 
 
 
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Travel Agencies and Tour Operators at KidZania
The role of tour operators (TOs) and travel agents (TAs) are putting together transport, events, attractions, accommodation and food / drink into a package and are then selling them to customers. The authors introduce in this chapter a new marketing strategy for TOs and TAs, as there is fierce competition in the retail environment. The approach offers an alternative to the existing marketing and distribution channel in the industry. The KidZania concept in itself is very strong from a marketing point of view due to its high capacity to convince customers. Also, with KidZania, TOs and TAs have an opportunity to ‘breed' ethical tourists, that is to say, tourists that respect their host, their environment, and culture. That said, the KidZania model could be said to be a form of manipulation of emotions, by pushing the children to behave and consume the way we would like them to.
Economics of General-Purpose Assembly Robots
Summary A study of the comparative economics of various automatic assembly systems using general-purpose assembly robots is described. In the study, use is made of a “typical” candidate assembly whose profile is obtained from statistical analysis of actual products submitted by interested companies. It is shown that the choice of assembly system and the various parts presentation methods depends on three main factors, namely: the annual production volume per shift, the number of parts in the product and the equipment payback period.