Six Flags CEO Selim Bassoul has come under fire for saying the parks had become “cheap day care centers for teenagers” and that the company wants to attract “more affluent” customers.
His comments came as Six Flags reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2022, revealing a decline in revenue due to lower attendance. Total revenue for Q2 2022 decreased by $24 million (5 percent) compared to Q2 2021.
In a call with investors, Bassoul said: “The philosophy of filling our parks was not the right strategy… we only got the discounter or we became a day care center for teenagers.”
“It was a cheap day care center for teenagers during breaks and the summers,” he added.
“[We] want to be a park for the middle class”
“Now, we’re changing that philosophy, and we’re going to a broader market. We’re going to, what I call, more affluent neighborhoods where we would like to bring people from those neighborhoods to come to our park who have not been targeted before,” Bassoul said.
“[We] want to be a park for the middle class and even the lower middle class,” he said.
In the call, Bassoul said the amusement park chain is “migrating a little bit from what I call the Kmart, Walmart [customers] to maybe the Target customers”.
“This is a transitional year for Six Flags, as we reset the foundations of our business model to focus on delivering a premium guest experience, while at the same time, correcting for decades of heavy price discounting,” Bassoul said in a statement last week.
Elsewhere, Knott’s Berry Farm in California is now requiring adults to chaperone visitors who are 17 years old or younger after multiple fights involving teenagers broke out at the park.
Images: Six Flags
