Jeremy Villette, director of Savane Kids in Poilly-Lez-Gien, has always dreamed of creating his own indoor play area… A dream that has become reality and has also revitalized the local community!

Dive into the entertaining world of this project, while exploring the keys to profitability for indoor play parks and the steps to opening an indoor play area.

Enjoy your reading!

Can you introduce yourself and tell us more about your indoor play area project in Poilly-Lez-Gien?

Jeremy Villette: My name is Jeremy Villette and I am the director of Savane Kids in Poilly-Lez-Gien.

I wanted to create a play area with a particular theme that was close to my heart, centered on the savanna: my son is a huge fan of the savanna!
Moreover, after managing a leisure center for children aged 1 to 12, the natural continuation was to work with this age group.

Why Poilly-Lez-Gien?

Jeremy Villette: In Poilly-Lez-Gien, there were few options, nothing specifically dedicated to children. Similarly, for outings with the leisure center, we often had to travel 30 to 40 km to find suitable activities.

After a market study, it became clear that there was unmet demand for indoor play parks.
This was unfortunate because there was a great need, which is why we launched with Play In Business.

How did you discover Play In Business and why did you choose to work with them to realize your project?

 

Jeremy Villette: We discovered Play In Business on Facebook, while searching for companies in the indoor play park sector.

Furthermore, they offered exactly what we were looking for in terms of play area theme: the savanna!

We hit it off very well with Aminata, who was very friendly.

Tell us about the stages of your collaboration with Play In Business.

Jeremy Villette: We found them on Facebook and sent them an email because we were interested in launching this project.
As beginners, we needed more information about profitability, budget, and the space we had found. Especially since we did not know the steps to follow.
I had already conducted a market study, but I needed advice because the project was already well underway.

Then, there was a phone conversation, and things fell into place naturally.

The project lasted just over a year, with an opening in May 2023.

For financing, it was very easy because Poilly-Lez-Gien is a small town and there was already strong demand.
The banks were enthusiastic about supporting this project.
Moreover, having worked for over 10 years in the community of municipalities, I had my network to make everything work!

How has Savane Kids evolved since its opening?

Jeremy Villette: The evolution has been very positive! We hired an additional person, which demonstrates its success.

We receive very good feedback from our customers, and we are progressing in an encouraging manner.

This summer, we opened every day, from 10 AM to 7 PM. However, outside the summer season we are open every Friday evening. That works really well too!

Additionally, we welcome approximately one hundred customers per day, children and adults included. And we do not need to advertise or communicate on social media because it would become difficult to manage.

In May, we simply communicated through the local newspaper, and thanks to word of mouth, it worked very well!

What are the most popular features of your leisure space?

Jeremy Villette: The ball pit for toddlers aged 1 to 3 is a huge success.
Everyone wants to go there.
In fact, I need to contact Play In Business to include one in the structure for older children!

The go-kart track is also very popular with children.

Can you explain how the creation of your indoor play area has had an impact on the community of Poilly-Lez-Gien?

Jeremy Villette: The impact has been very positive!

I am no longer the only one to have established myself. Now, there is a tobacco shop, a brasserie, and a large bakery that have opened.

This is very positive because it revitalizes an area that was initially underdeveloped. Other projects are also underway in Poilly-Lez-Gien, including the opening of other restaurants!

This is therefore very beneficial and ideal for us.

Indoor play parks are often associated with large cities. Can you tell us about the advantages of building such a park in a small town like yours?

Jeremy Villette: In our small town, the scarcity of activities constitutes a huge competitive advantage: we are the only ones, without direct competitors.

As I explained previously, this has also had a very positive impact on the local community.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs considering creating an indoor play area in a small town?

Jeremy Villette: I would tell them to take courage and realize that there are many opportunities in small towns.
You should not be afraid, because the fact that there are fewer inhabitants does not mean that the project will not work, quite the contrary!

Ultimately, would you recommend Play In Business and why?

Jeremy Villette: Absolutely!
They are very professional, always available to answer our questions, and very responsive!