Merlin Entertainments

[Glitch]

12 minutes ago, Coaster said:

Merlin are objecting to the London Resort planning application;

 

https://escapismproject.co.uk/news/1623419409?s=04&fbclid=IwAR10_0Tg26gWSoUVxXpB3cw7_nU2mQ7g0jdJK-ou_zD7Za4MVoncCuUaxsE

 

My thoughts on this?

 

Merlin need to do one.  They have strangled the life out of the UK theme park industry for years; they own the monopoly yet have such low standards in their parks, with no real drive to improve anything.

 

The Merlin short-term model of "slap an IP on it" whilst neglecting rides and basic infrastructure has killed the offering at their parks and, if the London Resort was to happen, it would most likely come back to bite them. My view is that they feel threatened by the prospect of a company coming in and doing a really good job with a park, as it would shift the public perception of Merlin being "the expected standard" in the UK.

 

Merlin are a company that call themselves second only to Disney, yet copy-paste ideas across the world, copy Paultons with Peppa Pig world (albeit not in the UK, as they can't) and they can't even invest satisfactorily in their major parks in the UK. Thorpe hasn't seen solid investment since 2012 despite supposedly being the UK's "thrill capital".  London Resort would challenge Merlin, which they clearly don't want.

 

In my opinion, London Resort is exactly what the UK industry needs for it to thrive, some healthy competition which would force Merlin to act. Look at America, there's a rivalry between Cedar Fair and Six Flags, or the European parks which are all owned by different companies. It's much healthier and means that parks have to be at the top of their game to stay in competition.

 

The fact that Merlin are making a fuss over this this says everything about them as a company, second rate and not willing to adjust and improve their offering to compete.

Yeah, this is sad if true, all I can say is lets hope London resort take a trip to chessington.

[Mark9]

11 hours ago, Coaster said:

Merlin are objecting to the London Resort planning application;

 

https://escapismproject.co.uk/news/1623419409?s=04&fbclid=IwAR10_0Tg26gWSoUVxXpB3cw7_nU2mQ7g0jdJK-ou_zD7Za4MVoncCuUaxsE

 

My thoughts on this?

 

Merlin need to do one.  They have strangled the life out of the UK theme park industry for years; they own the monopoly yet have such low standards in their parks, with no real drive to improve anything.

 

The Merlin short-term model of "slap an IP on it" whilst neglecting rides and basic infrastructure has killed the offering at their parks and, if the London Resort was to happen, it would most likely come back to bite them. My view is that they feel threatened by the prospect of a company coming in and doing a really good job with a park, as it would shift the public perception of Merlin being "the expected standard" in the UK.

 

Merlin are a company that call themselves second only to Disney, yet copy-paste ideas across the world, copy Paultons with Peppa Pig world (albeit not in the UK, as they can't) and they can't even invest satisfactorily in their major parks in the UK. Thorpe hasn't seen solid investment since 2012 despite supposedly being the UK's "thrill capital".  London Resort would challenge Merlin, which they clearly don't want.

 

In my opinion, London Resort is exactly what the UK industry needs for it to thrive, some healthy competition which would force Merlin to act. Look at America, there's a rivalry between Cedar Fair and Six Flags, or the European parks which are all owned by different companies. It's much healthier and means that parks have to be at the top of their game to stay in competition.

 

The fact that Merlin are making a fuss over this this says everything about them as a company, second rate and not willing to adjust and improve their offering to compete.

 

I'm going to be picky about one thing here and that is Merlin have always said they want to be second to Disney in terms of visitor numbers not quality. Secondly, I don't think we can criticise Merlin for copy/pasting attractions when Disney add Avengers campuses to three of their resorts and Toy Story play lands all over the place.

 

Aside from that, full agreement. It just comes across as anti-competition. 

[Stuntman707]

In a way it does show how Merlin thinks The London Resort is now a credible threat and not just an investors wet dream.

Now it’s got Merlins official attention, I hope it does go ahead for the sake of competition. Merlin are going to have to start planning some new coasters if they’re want to draw people away from a brand new theme park. Small walkthrough attractions and rebrands aren’t going to cut it.

[JoshC.]

I get why people are annoyed with Merlin. But at the same time, isn't this what businesses do? If a supermarket has a monopoly on an area, and another supermarket comes and tries to set a branch up, wouldn't the original supermarket do whatever it could to stop that supermarket marching in on its territory?

You could argue as well that Merlin's reasoning is pretty fair, given they seem to arguing against an issue with how the application was submitted, as opposed to the application itself (as I understand it). Can see why they'd be miffed if they want a level playing field in that respect, even if it is a low move from them.

In some twisted way, this kind of is a positive thing, no? It shows that Merlin see the London Resort as a more credible and possible thing now. If they didn't think this would happen, then surely they wouldn't waste their time with this. I still am in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp, but yeah, it's a positive thing in some way.

Also, it's not exactly like Merlin are trying to steamroll a tiny family business and make them bankrupt, they're going against another huge company with a ton of money too.
Ultimately, it's a bit of a low blow move, but it's business.

[Matt 236]

Very disappointed in Merlin doing this.

 

Because they’ve just plagiarised Universal from when they opposed the Skyplex being built in Orlando. 

[d.m.k]

It's just business and the legal team making themselves look useful. I wouldn't say I'm disappointed because it was always likely to happen. 

 

If they start groundwork on The London Resort in 2022, I'll be interested to hear what comes out in terms of Merlin's plans for their resorts. 

 

I know The London Resort would draw in crowds from afar but I see Thorpe has the biggest threat - could be wrong. 

[Martin Doyle]

Try and stop a project that could serve as competition to the parks and continue to be lazy with said parks as opposed to embracing competition which could improve the quality of the industry in this country and actually making an effort.

 

Yep seems legit!!

 

M£rlin (emphasis on the pound sign) really are the absolute pits of the industry.

[Marc]

2 hours ago, Martin Doyle said:

Try and stop a project that could serve as competition to the parks and continue to be lazy with said parks as opposed to embracing competition which could improve the quality of the industry in this country and actually making an effort.

 

Yep seems legit!!

 

M£rlin (emphasis on the pound sign) really are the absolute pits of the industry.

They are literally a business - any business in a similar situation would do the same. Universal objected a new attraction on international drive and they are certainly not the pits of the industry.. 

[SteveJ]

This isnt a sabotage or a business decision, it's just a planning procedure, they want to be able to register as interested parties on a major planning development in their sector, because they are one. There's literally nothing negative about this, it's just trying to hold London Resort to account for the planning process.

This should have never hit the fan news, it's been totally misunderstood, mundane procedural stuff like this happens all the time in planning

[Glitch]

TBH I saw the London resort as being prime real estate for a Merlin Midway hub, if they wanted to expand on their central London offerings.

[JoshC.]

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/newsroom/news-releases/2022/merlin-entertainments-nick-varney-chief-executive-officer-to-retire/

 

CEO of Merlin, Nick Varney, and CDO Mark Fisher, have announced that they intend to retire over the next 12 months.

 

Nick has been CEO of Merlin since it was formed in 1999, and Mark Fisher might not be a name everyone is familiar with, but he's played a significant role in Merlin as well. Both leaving the company at a similar time could lead to some pretty big changes.

[Glitch]

Does anyone else feel like Merlin has suddenly become very American. I’ve seen Scott has hired president of people and other similar roles. How long is it till HQ moves overseas too from Poole?

[Coaster]

Don't worry, I'm not back, just briefly returning to the forum to highlight what I feel is a very important talking point.

 

In a recent government report, Merlin Entertainments have been listed as a company who have not paid minimum wage.  The company failed to pay minimum to 1,100 employees, equating to £43,000.

 

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-500-companies-named-for-not-paying-minimum-wage

 

Ride Rater have published a further breakdown of all the available info:

 

https://riderater.co.uk/11561/merlin-entertainments-failed-to-pay-minimum-wage/

 

Flamingo Land are also named here for failing to pay 4 workers the minimum, following a previous report from Blackpool Pleasure Beach who had failed to pay 12 workers the minimum.

 

In 2018, the CEO of Merlin Entertainments took home a salary of £1,493,000.  In contrast, the £43,000 owed to 1,100 employees would have still left £1,450,000 for the CEO.  Staff rely on being paid at least the legal minimum to live off, to pay their bills.  It's shameful that this has been allowed to happen.

 

Source: https://www.erieri.com/executive/salary/nick-varney-8ydw

 

I feel that as enthusiasts/people with an interest in theme parks, we have to pay attention to this and demand better for the staff who make our hobby possible.