eSports bar business plan template

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Ecstatic Gamers will be an eSports bar, in other words, a bar where video game enthusiasts can come to drink and play video games on consoles or computers within a classic bar setting.

Ecstatic Gamers' mission will be to provide both gamers and those who are new to eSports with a fun and friendly experience, offering a variety of games and the possibility to watch competitions in a relaxed environment.

Our eSport bar will be located 25 rue Basse in downtown Caen near the marina but also near the Vaugueux district. The district is very lively, as it hosts a good number of restaurants nearby, as well as hotels and bars along the port.

Our bar is a limited company with a share capital of €10,000 and whose partners are Julien C. and Victoria D.

The partners both have prior experience that has familiarised them with the eSports industry. Julien worked as a salesman in a video game store for 10 years, while Victoria worked for a major game console brand.

Having played video games online together for the last 8 years, the partners know each other very well.

Market Overview

Global Market

eSports, or electronic sport, is a term that surfaced around the year 2000 and refers to the competitive practice of video games, especially online.

According to Business Insider, the global eSports market is worth $1.09 billion in 2019, compared to $865 million in 2018, an increase of 26.7% in the space of just one year.

In particular, Deloitte experts forecast global revenues of $3 billion in 2022.

Domestic Market

According to France eSport, there will be approximately 5.06 million eSports consumers in France in 2019, 62% of whom will be players aged 18 to 24, and 72% will be men, representing an overall total of 12% of French Internet users.

A 2019 French Video Games Agency (AFJV) report also tells us that France ranks third in the European ranking of eSports consumers, after Russia and Sweden. The turnover generated by the French market in 2018 was $25 million.

According to Télé Satellite, audiences for eSports competitions are also growing, with an estimated 3.8 million viewers over the age of 15 having already watched an eSports match.

The most popular game revealed by France eSports report is Fifa (many eSports consumers are also real sports fans), followed by League of Legends and Call of Duty.

eSports bars

Broadcasting rights for eSports competitions represent 36% of total revenues.

The main attraction for enthusiasts is access to competition replays, particularly through YouTube, Twitch, Afreeca TV, ESL and Blizzard channels.

This broadcasting entails costs for the platforms that host the competitions, as they pay royalties to the video game designers.

This method of rebroadcasting has enabled the eSports bar to see the light of day, not only internationally but also in France.

As the market is recent, we have limited data concerning the eSports bars in France, but they are largely inspired by their English neighbor, as London has seen a rapid development of bars with several different concepts, including video games and retro games.

Meltdown, the first eSports bar in France, was created around 2012. According to Hitek magazine, this bar quickly turned into a chain and now has 11 franchises spread out across France, England, Germany, and Belgium.

In 2017, Meltdown achieved over $2 million in sales.

Local Market

According to INSEE, Caen had a population of 105,403 in 2018. 32.2% of the overall population are aged between 15-29, with a vast cohort of students dotted around different campuses within the city.

The breakdown of the local population suggests there is a good opportunity for eSports bars, especially since millennials are a key group in these bars' target audience.

Young people are looking for bars to drink and socialise in, but since competition is fierce in Caen, it's important to develop new concepts to catch the attention of this particular group, who are always looking for new and diverse experiences.

Financial Highlights

For Year 1, we anticipate sales of €153,083 and EBITDA of €6,519 (or 4.26% of margin).

The high level of depreciation related to investments will force us to recognize a small loss of €-2,137 in year 1 despite a positive EBITDA.

We anticipate that the loyalty actions indicated in our marketing plan, as well as word of mouth, will allow us to continue to develop the business in years 2 and 3.

From year 1 to year 2, we expect to increase sales by 4.21% to reach an EBITDA of €10,552 (or 6.61% margin), and then in year 3 we expect to increase sales by 2.47% to reach an EBITDA of €12,982 (or 7.94% of margin).

The improvement in EBITDA margin is mainly due to better absorption of fixed costs, following the growth in sales.

We expect positive cash generation over the entire plan. The cash flow generated by the company will cover loan repayments, while retaining sufficient leeway to deal with unforeseen events and regularly renew our equipment and licenses.

Our Ask

Ecstastic Gamers will require initial financing of €70,000 for its opening.

The partners will invest €40,000 in equity (57% of the total amount) and we would like to obtain a loan of €30,000 to complete our financing.