After last week’s news that Grupo Orient would be taking over the management of cinema screens at 10 Sonae Sierra shopping centres in Portugal, its president has now revealed that the company will be hiring 100 people throughout the course of this year.
In an interview with online publication Dinheiro Vivo, Aquiles Mônaco said Grupo Orient, which has been operating in Brazil for 20 years and in Angola for six, would be looking to employ 100 people to work for the Portuguese operation, run by the group’s company Cineplace.
He also revealed that the first cinema screens to open would be at LoureShopping, LeiriaShopping and AlgarveShopping, and that Grupo Orient was looking to generate a turnover of €10-15 million in the first year of activity in Portugal.
Last week the Algarve Resident reported that the management of 10 cinema halls in Portugal would be taken over by the Brazilian film distributor Grupo Orient, after a long-standing deal between financially-troubled Castello-Lopes and shopping centre specialists Sonae Sierra had collapsed.
The recent agreement between Sonae Sierra and Grupo Orient foresees the opening of 10 cinema halls before the end of 2013. The group’s company Cineplace will be managing the cinemas at AlgarveShopping, Continente Portimão, Parque Atlântico, Estação Viana, LeiriaShopping, LoureShopping, MadeiraShopping, RioSul Shopping, Serra Shopping and 8ª Avenida.
Aquiles Mônaco told Dinheiro Vivo: “We have extensive experience in the cinema business and will develop specific promotions to encourage the Portuguese to go to the movies as a form of entertainment, culture and leisure, particularly at times of crisis.”
In 2007, Brazil’s Grupo Orient began an internationalisation programme, starting with the African continent, where it set up base in Angola. Its Portugal operation is now possible thanks to the deal with Sonae Sierra.
