INLSA
Stamatis Kapsimalis, right, one of the directors of the Durban-based Mr Funtubbles Fabulous Family Fun Fair, with his Spanish supplier, Jose Saus, at their stand at the SA Council of Shopping Centres congress in Durban.
Stamatis Kapsimalis and his business partners at Mr Funtubbles Fabulous Family Fun Fair stole the show at the SA Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) annual congress in Durban last week.
Kapsi, as he is famously known after founding the popular seafood restaurant chain John Dory’s, left the restaurant business earlier this year after a spat with Spur Corporation, which bought a majority stake of the company in 2004.
The soured relationship with Spur Corporation saw his excitement for the business waning and he eventually sold his remaining stake to the JSE-listed restaurant group earlier this year. Kapsimalis chose to focus all his attention on his new business, Mr Funtubbles, which he started three years ago as a fun venture with business partners Greg and Costa Chistodoulou, Jonathan Maehler and concept design partners Adrian Morrison.
“We’ve been mesmerised by the response we have had at our stand at the SACSC Congress here in Durban. It was our first time exhibiting and we have had an overwhelming response and struck many deals. This is such a uniquely packaged entertainment offering for the kids. From the response, it seems like every shopping centre wants one,” said Kapsimalis.
While Mr Funtubbles is a fully fledged indoor funfair at Gateway, where it pioneered the venture, Kapsi and his crew have developed a Mr Funtubbles node concept to roll out to small shopping centres and other tourist destinations.
Some R20 million was invested in setting up the flagship Mr Funtubbles Fabulous Family Fun Fair at Gateway and another small outlet was opened last year at Liberty Midlands Mall in Pietermaritzburg, as part of a multimillion-rand expansion.
Kapsimalis said that while they would look for specific centres to open the large format Mr Funtubbles offering, their main focus now was to roll out the node concept, which presented a vast growth opportunity. Already several shopping centres across the country have the smaller Mr Funtubbles nodes in operation, such as in Musgrave Centre in Durban and Eastgate in Joburg.
“This is an exciting new business for me and my partners. For me, that’s what business should be. You should enjoy what you do and then success will come. What could be more exciting than working in the funfair business, where you’re in the business of making kids happy?” asked Kapsimalis.
“With Mr Funtubbles, we’ve got a category buster… We have pioneered this concept in SA. We have established a partnership with a leading Spanish supplier of kiddies rides and other entertainment offerings and we have rights for it in Africa. But, we are not just bringing these rides into SA; we have developed the Mr Funtubbles brand and concept that will make it instantly recognisable as it is rolled out across SA.
“From the colourful design and node concept to creating a family friendly environment for younger kids, we have done a lot of research. Mr Funtubbles at Gateway has been hugely successful and we believe the nodes will also be very successful. The node idea has been designed with a few rides, token operator and a rest area for parents. These can be located in various parts of malls, and when kids are crabby it can entertain them for a while and offer a respite for parents,” he said.
“Whether we like it or not, shopping malls are where many families spend many hours, not just shopping, but for their entertainment. Shopping centres are increasingly becoming destinations and attractions on their own with various entertainment offerings.
“Mr Funtubbles adds to the appeal of shopping centres and generates extra footfall for shopping centre owners,” added Kapsimalis.
While the venture is only three years old, it already employs more than 100 people. And, with big expansion plans more jobs are set to be created. Franchising the concept is also being considered.
“I’m over the fish and chips and seafood business now. Establishing John Dory’s over the past 15 years was a great chapter in my life, but Mr Funtubbles has captured my imagination now,” Kapsimalis said.
