Effective partnerships between property landlords and their retail tenants are crucial for fostering vibrant, successful commercial spaces. In this exclusive Q&A feature, published in the latest issue of SCN, we invited six retail partners to share their personal experiences and career highlights and provide insights into their business – the current challenges, opportunities, trends, growth strategy and more… Here we feature Tyrone Dodds, Director of Property & Business Development at HOYTS…

HOYTS is synonymous with cinema in Australia. As Australia’s oldest and largest cinema chain, it has entertained generations of audiences for more than 115 years. Today, HOYTS is Australia and New Zealand’s market leading cinema company representing just under 30% of cinema admissions annually across 59 cinemas, with premium cinema experiences including HOYTS LUX, Xtremescreen, recliners and D-BOX motion recliners.

What is your current role and main responsibilities?

I am the Director of Property & Business Development for HOYTS and am responsible for real estate, including new sites and acquisitions, leasing, design, development and asset management. New cinema concepts and innovation through design to improve the customer experience also sit within my portfolio.

Tell us about your career journey and how you got started in retail property?

I graduated from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) with a Bachelor in Property Economics and went to work in commercial leasing and sales for CBRE on the Gold Coast. After two years, I decided to head to London to travel and got a job in finance at the UK’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT), Landsec. After two years, I was offered a role on Landsec’s retail team, initially in property management and then in asset management. During this time, I became a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

After eight years, I moved to Sydney where I was lucky enough to join Dexus as an Asset and Development Manager. I was the Investment Manager on their joint ventures with Westfield, and the Development Manager on several shopping centres in North Queensland.

In 2014, I had the opportunity to join HOYTS as Director of Property and Development. HOYTS was in the process of being acquired by the world’s largest entertainment business, Wanda Group and there was a new management team in place under our CEO Damian Keogh. The box office was strong, cinema and dining were a key focus in retail development, and I saw it as a great opportunity to be part of the new golden age of cinema.

HOYTS LUX Bar – Karrinyup, WA

Do you have any career highlights or favourite projects?

I have been extremely lucky to work for some top companies and been involved in some amazing projects like the Bullring in Birmingham, redevelopments in Miranda and North Lakes, and more recently with HOYTS on the opening of Chadstone and Karrinyup, as well as the refurbishment of Carousel.

The highlight of my career to date is being part of the HOYTS leadership team. During the last decade we have invested more than $300 million, refurbished 85% of our cinemas, added 10 new cinemas, and developed innovative concepts such as HOYTS recliners, D-BOX, and Treat City. These initiatives have positioned HOYTS as the market leader in the industry and grown market share from 18% in 2014, to more than 27% in 2024.

There are several projects that stand out for me – the reopening of our flagship store at Chadstone in 2016, my first at HOYTS, the opening of our boutique cinema at HOYTS Cronulla with Lounge Cinemas and, more recently, the development of HOYTS Karrinyup, which took the cinema experience in Australia to a new level.

What do you love about retail?

I love retail because it is continually evolving and innovating, whether it be products, concepts or experiences. I consider HOYTS to be a retailer, not only are we selling great food and beverage and movie merchandise but, more importantly, we are selling the experience of going to the movies.

What are some of the trends you are seeing in the cinema industry?

I had the privilege of attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas this year and there are several trends shaping our industry at present:

1. The major studios are committed to the theatrical release and the line up in 2025 and 2026 looks more positive.

2. The theme for exhibitors was ‘Survive to 25’. A lot of cinemas have closed, a lot of exhibitors including Cineworld and Vue have gone into administration, and a couple of others are teetering on the brink.

3. The evolution in seating continues – recliners, glide seats, lounges, daybeds, chaises, private boxes.

4. Premium screens – the big screen experience has never been more important and will continue to evolve and proliferate. Globally you have third party experiences such as D-BOX and IMAX, which are extremely popular and continue to expand. Domestically, we continue to invest in our own premium formats – Xtremescreen and HOYTS LUX to maximise the customer experience.

Xtremescreen – HOYTS Erina, NSW

What are some innovations being introduced at HOYTS?

At HOYTS, our vision is to create the cinema of the future, and our mission is to provide the number one entertainment experience. We focus on providing an exceptional and frictionless customer experience. This includes a seamless online experience, a great in-cinema environment, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and first-class customer service.

HOYTS has a clear focus on innovation. We were the first to create a dramatic and immersive arrival with concierge and kiosk ticketing, we were the first to introduce Treat City, our ‘duty free’ style self-service concessions area, in 2015 we elevated the in-cinema customer experience with motorised recliners as standard seating, and in 2019 we introduced D-BOX motion recliners to create an immersive cinema experience.

How important is customer experience?

Customer experience is at the heart of everything we do. In a highly competitive market where we are not only competing against other cinemas, but also other forms of social entertainment such as music, sport and now streaming, cinemas need to invest in creating memorable experiences to give people a reason to get off their couches and come to the cinema.

We recently installed the world’s first cinema LED screens at Highpoint in Melbourne and the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney. These screens are epic, the colours are amazing, and the contrast is incredible.

Last year, we added an additional 19 locations with D-BOX motion recliners. The state-of-the-art immersive experience moves and vibrates the seats in perfect sync with the movie action, which makes the movie experience incredibly captivating. Eventually, we hope to have D-BOX at every one of our locations.

D-BOX – HOYTS Erina, NSW

Following the success of our award-winning website, the imminent launch of the new HOYTS app marks a significant step forward in enhancing HOYTS’ customer experience. This innovative platform is designed to simplify connections and transactions while offering personalised experiences based on individual film preferences and favourite treats. Every feature has been thoughtfully crafted with a customer-centric approach, ensuring interactions are seamless, tailored and truly engaging.

What do you think makes a successful retailer/shopping centre?

We have worked particularly hard to develop our relationships with our property partners and I believe our relationships throughout the industry are second to none. Honesty and transparency are the key to success. We provide regular updates to our partners on the industry to ensure they are informed and they really appreciate this.

Although we have had many difficult conversations during the past five years, I believe there is a mutual respect and a genuine willingness to work together to find solutions that work for both parties.

Cinemas are very capital intensive, from the initial fit-out through to continual reinvestment in projectors, sound, digital screens, seats, services etc. For the cinema industry to survive and thrive in the longer term, collectively we need to rethink the model to deal with the uncertainty and lumpiness of the Box Office. This needs to be a performance-based approach that shares the downside risk but also provides a bigger share of the upside.

Artie’s Bar – HOYTS Erina, NSW

Your favourite shopping centre, ELP and cinema?

My favourite shopping centre is Chadstone, it is just a behemoth of a centre with world-class retailers. The cinema is consistently in the top two highest grossing in the country. The architecture is amazing and the relationship between HOYTS and the retail below is spectacular.

My favourite Entertainment & Leisure Precinct (ELP) is Westfield Carousel, the way Scentre Group integrated the existing cinema with the new dining and entertainment precinct and parking is seamless. It looks like it has always been there.

My favourite cinema is HOYTS Karrinyup. The cinema design is like nothing we have ever done before – it’s a premium experience that really captures the coastal feel of the area.

What do you love most about HOYTS?

My first memory of going to the cinema was at the HOYTS Regent in Brisbane. I still remember the anticipation of seeing Star Wars, the beautiful timber fit-out, the smell of the popcorn, the neon lights, the darkness of the auditorium, the trailers, and the move from dark to light as the opening credits rolled through on the big screen.

With the investment we have made over the last decade, HOYTS has revolutionised cinemagoing and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved.

This profile featuring Tyrone Dodds forms part of a special feature published in the latest issue of SCN magazine.