How to Start a Bowling Alley Business In India

Ten-pin bowling or bowling is a game where a player rolls the ball through the alley, hits all the pins, and makes them fall. The dimensions of the bowling alley should be 18-meters long and 105 centimeters wide. Bowling is considered to be a healthy, family-friendly sport. This makes people set up businesses by running bowling alleys and making high profits. However, the bowling business has high investments, and the returns will take time.

We need to choose our location wisely and attract people by providing different offers and services. We can set up this business in our building or take any building for lease. Most people choose entertainment spots such as malls, movie theatres, etc. Let’s check out how to start a Bowling alley business in India.

Factors to be considered while setting up a Bowling alley

Location

You need to choose a location wisely. There should be access to a parking facility, and it should be reachable for people. You should mainly select movie theatres and shopping malls as the prime location because those are the places that most people visit.

Equipment

The equipment has to be brought well in advance before starting because you can identify if there is any fault in the equipment purchased. Not only that, we can ensure that there won’t be any delay in starting the business.

Permits

There are different kinds of licenses required from the state and the central government.

Staff

The staff has to be recruited well in advance before starting the business, and they should be sent into different departments, and training has to be given depending on their department.

Food stalls

Food stalls should be installed in the business area, which can be profitable by improving your business and creating a good opinion of your bowling alley to the customers.

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GST filings

Whatever the business may be, one has to pay the Central and the State Goods and Service Tax (GST) to the government for the smooth operation of the business. Even the bowling alley is also considered a business, so they also have to pay the taxes and file the income tax returns on their business.

Investment

If a person sets up the bowling business individually, they should have the capital. If they do not have sufficient funds, they can apply for a bank loan. If they are setting up a business as a franchise, they can apply for the loan at the bank or apply for a loan in the franchise itself. If a person applies for the franchise loan, they should work on a contract basis.

How to start a Bowling alley business In India

Licenses required

Multiple permissions from state and central governments will be required for setting up a bowling alley business. Permits for building and construction, a license for food serving, business PAN, GST number for the company, etc., are required.

Equipment required for setting up a Bowling alley

Alleys
Pin setters
Scorers
Ball Return System
Central Management System
Seating arrangements
Supplies – Shoes, Bowling balls, etc.

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Cost of the equipment

The cost of the bowling alley depends on two factors whether you are setting up an independent bowling alley or setting up a franchise. First, relying on two different qualities of the equipment, such as refurbished, second-hand, or brand new, the price of the equipment is calculated. In India, primarily, second-hand alleys are used due to budget constraints. The minimum cost for setting up a basic bowling alley is lakhs, and if you need a top-end alley or a refurbished alley, it may take up to 15-20 lakhs.

Selection of location

We need to select a perfect location by considering the parameters such as having a sufficient parking space. For example, setting up bowling alleys in shopping malls, movie theatres, etc. Vacant warehouses are a common choice; they often have plenty of square footage and require minor interior renovations to be converted into a bowling alley.

Additional forms of entertainment offered in Bowling alley

Video games
Parties and gatherings
Tournaments and leagues
Bumping cars
Virtual reality section
Food stalls

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Selection of equipment If you are setting the Bowling alley individually

You need to order all the equipment well in advance before the starting of the bowling alley so that no costumer is facing any problem.
You need to order extra bowling pins so if any damage happens to the pins that are used then can be replaced at the same instance.
You need to order extra bowling balls with different hole size and different weights.

Hiring the staff and training

Training is to be given to staff well before the bowling alley opens to ensure customer and employee safety. The different kinds of training that are given to the staff of other departments are:

Training the staff to release the pin-setting machines from their shackles
Repairing the damaged equipment
Training to be given to hospitality staff

Marketing and advertising

Palm plates to be distributed well in advance and creating hype among the people before starting the bowling alley
Coupons are to distributed to the locals for the first weeks to encourage and making them habituated to the game
Contacting local organizations and creating packages for the organizations that they can afford

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Accounts and expenses

You need to keep tracking all the expenses for that we should not depend entirely on the working staff. You need to appoint someone from your trusted circle as we can not trust the staff and to avoid any theft from happening. You need to recruit staff for the accounting department, which tracks all the incoming and outgoing expenses.

Advantages of setting up a Bowling alley individually

The business will never be low it will always be profitable
You can become a boss and set your own rules
There will be lot of connections whom we meet at our new business which may be useful for us
You can develop local following by attracting the services
This business can be easily learned by everyone. So you can learn different strategies in your business and improve your business

Disadvantages of setting up a Bowling alley individually

Competition is very high we need to choose the right location and attract people to get profit.
The net profit for the bowling alley business is very low we need to make it attractive.
The initial investment is very high returns are not that fast.
If you are work full time in the bowling alley then it wont be any problem but if you have the bowling alley as a side business then you might have a problem tracking your expenses.
In the beginning of the new business you must be time commited so that your consumers have a good opinion on your business.

Advantages of setting up a bowling alley as a franchise

When you set up your business as a franchise there will be no use of marketing teams since they provide marketing in the price we pay for franchise
We need not buy all the equipment since the franchise we tie up with provide all the major equipment
If you are getting tie up with an established franchise they may provide loan facility themselves or you may get bank loan easily
If you do not have knowledge about the business the franchise provides training and support

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Disadvantages of setting up a bowling as a franchise

If you are provided loan from the franchise then you will have to run the business as contract basis
When you are chosen to run a franchise with a well established company, and in that company if any one branch experiences drawbacks due to some product failure or their specialization issues, it affects all the other branches
Sometimes the equipment provided by the franchiser would be cheap than the equipment available with other vendors
Even after paying for franchise we need to pay for maintenance of the equipment given by the franchiser

Frequently asked questions on Bowling alley business (FAQ)

What is the bowling alley investment cost in India?

It may cost up to 6 lakhs for the basic bowling alley, and for the premium bowling alley, it may cost up to 20 lakhs.

How to start bowling alley business in India?

You need to have an investment amount. If you don’t have the required investment, you can apply for a loan. You need to apply for all the licenses necessary to set up a bowling alley. You need to choose the location and

Are there any used bowling alleys for sale in India?

There are many bowling alleys available for sale. However, in India, mostly all the bowling alleys are second-hand because setting up a brand new bowling alley is very costly, and it is not affordable for everyone.

What is the Equipment cost of a basic bowling alley?

The equipment cost for the basic bowling alley costs about ten lakhs.

Is bowling business profitable in India?

Yes, the bowling business is highly profitable when choosing the correct location. In the beginning, it may not be profitable, but it will surely be profitable when it reaches a lot of people.