The traditional retail sector has faced significant challenges over the past decade, exacerbated by the pandemic.
However, rather than spelling doom for Clearhill, which provides a range of entertainment solutions from kiddy rides to claw machines and gift card vending machines to 400 prominent retail locations, managing director John McAreavey sees opportunity for growth.
“People have long predicted the demise of shopping centres and the high street, but we’ve found them to be resilient.
“The industry is evolving, with shopping centres now becoming destinations.”
He says Castle Court exemplifies this shift, as seen in its replacement of anchor tenant Debenhams with the Avenue Cinema,
“Fortunately we were one of the companies that came out more positive after the pandemic because we used the time to evolve. We went out and sourced a pathogen to put on the machines that killed 99% of bacteria.
“We also used the time to test contactless payments. We retrofitted every machine and that was beneficial in many ways; it allowed us access to usage data and gave us the ease to change prices in line with inflation without having to refit.”
Based mostly in Ireland, with a share of the GB market where it is the second biggest trader of its kind, Clearhill has been operating since 1992, after John’s father and company founder, Brian McAreavey sold Indiana Land in Dundonald, one of his first businesses.
“My dad has a very interesting and colourful career. He’s an entrepreneur and always tried out different things.
“Indiana Land was the first soft play facility on the island of Ireland at the time. He also operated ‘Fun and Games’ which was taking traditional family games to outdoor events. I worked in that business since I was around six or seven.
“That was a brilliant experience and you only really understand the benefits it gave you much later in life. We were going all over Ireland and talking to customers and that developed confidence,” he adds.
John officially joined Clearhill in a professional capacity in 2011 after completing a business management degree at Queen’s University.
“At that time the accountant felt if I came into the business, it would make sense because I could bring finance skills. I then did a traineeship in Henry Murray and Co in Lurgan.”
John, a father of two—his son and daughter aged three and one—and a former Co Down Gaelic player, commands a high profile in Ireland.
He has been defined for many years by things other than his current role, but he emerges today as not only a devoted father but a driven businessman with an ambitious vision to inject life into our increasingly precarious retail landscape.
“We see an opportunity to introduce a novel concept called Fun Shop Hub.
“That involves transforming traditional retail units into interactive spaces offering not just kiddie rides but also family-oriented video games where visitors can immerse themselves for extended periods, in an unattended environment.
“With the current surplus of retail space, we believe Fun Hub could significantly enhance the value proposition of shopping centres that embrace it.”
The company will unveil the concept in Leicester in a few months. It will require minimal supervision with everything from interactive games; from ball-throwing video-based and driver games to water-shooting games.
Instead of token dispensers like competitors, Clearhill plans to introduce a prize hub system via a dedicated app already familiar to its loyal customers.
It’s been quite the journey for the business. Technology was fast-tracked during the pandemic, exposing it to limitless opportunity, John says. He adds that growth and levelling up is part of a scaling programme Clearhill has enrolled on.
That will see the business commit to expansion, with Europe and beyond in the pipeline.
“Now we have a clearly defined vision about our growth, we see a lot in our future over the next three to 10 years. Hopefully, the market likes the Fun Hub concept and we can grow that rapidly but there are also potential opportunities in Europe.
“We see similar products, elsewhere in the world, but we see ours as the best and because we can virtually monitor them, the question now is about our appetite.”
And does he see his two children enter the business in the way that he and his siblings did in their early years?
“It’s funny because we have machines in our local shopping mall, The Boulevard, and they want to go there just for the rides. It’s a good opportunity for me to do market research with them.
“While it may seem like the natural path for them, we have to be wary, or we could inadvertently limit our children’s journey.
“Our preference is to lay the groundwork and allow them to forge their own paths.
“We were fortunate to have been immersed in this environment from a young age, catching the bug early on.”
