Washtenaw Economic Club hosted Paul Glantz to discuss “Growth & Resilience” – and debrief, ad hoc, on government relations

For the past two years now, COVID-19 has tested the pliancy of almost every competitive enterprise. [1-4]

With movie theaters easily cited as poster-child for impact of fears that motivated patrons to persue online alternatives and emergency powers leveraged by government to lock their doors, Washtenaw Economic Club invited Paul Glantz to speak before its May 2022 Luncheon. [5-8]

As co-founder and chairman of Michigan-based Emagine Entertainment, Mr Glantz spoke yesterday on “Key Success Factors that Drive Business Growth & Resiliance.” Little more than two weeks back from the premier conference for his industry — CinemaCon — he put numbers to the financial losses experienced by those movie houses that had survived thus far. [9,10]

Among its peers, Emagine could be counted among the top fifteen to twenty percent in terms of health of those that are emerging.

Given his background in finance, it was not surprising to hear him open this Economic Club talk by attributing this to having entered the unanticipated pandemic with forward-thinking capitalization. “Bankruptcy” was never a concern for Emagine (though he candidly confessed to having been uncomfortably close to considering it personally as “15 Days to Slow the Spread” extended by weeks, then months, and then inexplicably beyond that). [11]

Emagine Entertainment got creative, too — with visible “drive-in” offerings. Less obvious to some, however, was the stabilizing effect of their being able to “return” classic motion pictures to the modern theater-going experience, as well as providing live performance simulcasts through their relationship with Fathom Events. [12-14]

And now, sports-betting. [15]

Reflecting on the latest predictions of doom for in-person movie experiences, he went on to assert that those who know this business, know their customers, shouldn’t have seen streaming as death knell. He praised Tom Cruise for refusing to allow Top Gun: Maverick to premier concurrently online. [16-20]

Predictably, out-of-the-gate opportunities for piracy torpedoed opening weekend grosses. By extension, the current financial difficulties being faced by Netflix were no surprise. [21]

To put a human face on this impact, Paul Glantz added that Emagine had retained ninety-five percent of its theater management staff over the course of SARS-CoV-2, to-date. He said that decisions were made to not only keep theater managers on payroll across periods of shuttering, but to avoid putting any of them in a position where they would be forced to make decisions viz compensation that could otherwise raise challenges of “pay their mortgages” or “keep their health insurance.

We say that Emagine Entertainment is committed to providing the best possible experience for our guests. You can’t ask your employees to do that if, as a company, you don’t treat them that same way.

The man at the podium yesterday was ever-so-slightly battle-fatigued, compared to when Saline Journal covered him prior to 15 Days. He kept a close eye on his prepared remarks, which covered about forty minutes of his hour on stage before a capacity room at the DoubleTree Hilton in Ann Arbor. For the balance, he responded to a handful of questions from the audience. [22]

Although most such interactions are predictable and decidedly positive, one standout exception invited Mr Glantz to comment on the current state of his relationship with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He was not alone in questioning her COVID-19 decision-making, if not biases in 2020, a year that lead to her being named co-chair for the inauguration of then-President-Elect Joe Biden. [23-25]

Paul Glantz allowed an appreciable silence to pass before he responded.

With a broad smile, he then suggested that “some things are better left unsaid in the heat of the moment,” that with a the passage of time, and a healthy dose of self-reflection, “you learn to set aside your differences and keep focusing on your customers.

In the end, today, I suppose you could say that we’ve agreed to disagree about some things.

Given the current world of business and seemingly accelerated pace of next shoes to drop, that may well have been the best example available in terms of “Key Success Factors” — with the balance of 2022 yet to come.

References

1. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
2. “Novel Coronavirus Reports” CDC.
3. “Analysis of financial impact on restaurants as Michigan Executive Orders 2020-09, 2020-21 remain in effect” Dell Deaton (March 23, 2020) Saline Journal.
4. “State of Michigan drew national attention this week as diverse, unheard voices sought help with COVID-19 distress” Dell Deaton (April 16, 2020) Saline Journal.
5. “With Executive Order 2020-183, Governor Whitmer has allowed cinemas opportunity to again prove their community value” Dell Deaton (September 28, 2020) Saline Journal.
6. “After six months, three weeks, and two days, cinemas in Michigan are permitted to re-open; and Paul Glantz is ready” Dell Deaton (October 9, 2020) Saline Journal.
7. Washtenaw Economic Club (home page).
8. “Paul A Glantz” Wayne State University.
9. “About Emagine” Emagine Entertainment.
10. CinemaCon (home page).
11. “15 Days to Slow the Spread” (March 16, 2020) The White House.
12. “Monroe Street Drive-In Reopens This Weekend” DeJanay Booth (November 12, 2021) 62 CBS Detroit.
13. “Emagine Entertainment Chairman Paul Glantz discussed James Bond, coronavirus, and local theater competition” Dell Deaton (March 10, 2020) Saline Journal.
14. Fathom Events (home page).
15. “Emagine theaters announce plans for sports-betting lounge at Royal Oak location” Matt Durr (May 6, 2022) mLive.
16. “How Netflix Is Changing The Future of Movie Theaters” Dana Feldman (July 28, 2019) Forbes.
17. “Does streaming mean the death of movie theaters?” (July 9, 2021) Fox Business (video, 8:12 minutes).
18. “Will Movie Theaters Survive When Audiences Can Stream New Releases?” Gordon Brunch, Daegon Cho, Yangfan Liang, and Michael D Smith (January 15, 2021) Harvard Business Review.
19. “Top Gun: Maverick | New Official Trailer (2022 Movie) – Tom Cruise” (March 29, 2022) YouTube (2:30 minutes).
20. “When Will ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Stream on Paramount+? Not Any Time Soon if Tom Cruise Has His Way” Matt Tamanini (May  6, 2022) The Streamable.
21. “Netflix Earnings: The 3 Most Important Things to Watch” Daniel Sparks (April 8, 2022) The Motley Fool.
22. DoubleTree by Hilton Ann Arbor North (home page).
23. “Emagine postpones Juneteenth festival after legal threat, chairman slams Whitmer” Meredith Spelbring (June 18, 2020) Detroit Free Press.
24. “Opinion: Gov Whitmer vs theaters; the political drama behind the screens” Dale Buss (October 7, 2020) The Detroit News.
25. “Gretchen Whitmer has no problem with Biden campaign events but called Trump events ‘distressing’” Carly Ortiz-Lytle (September 9, 2020) Washington Examiner.