Name change positions SDC Inc. for future growth

In an effort to position itself for future growth, Silver Dollar City Inc. has changed its name to Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. The name change is on the corporate level and does not affect its tourist-related properties, such as the Silver Dollar City and Dollywood theme parks.

Peter Herschend, vice chairman of the company board, said Silver Dollar City is recognized in southwest Missouri but struggles with identification in other parts of the country where the company is seeking to expand. He said the name is often misconstrued as a gambling operation.

"The name Herschend Family Entertainment is a lot softer and it doesn't carry with it any baggage," Herschend said. "We want to have a name that will work wherever we go."

The new name is intended to diminish negative first impressions by government officials and banks in new markets, Herschend said.

What's in a name?

The Silver Dollar City name began as a marketing gimmick when the Herschend family opened the park in 1960. Without an advertising budget at that time, the organization set out for something unique.

Don Richardson, marketing and public relations director at the time, came up with the idea to name it Silver Dollar City and use silver dollars in change. It became a traveling marketing tool. As patrons used the silver dollars outside of the park, talk surrounded the origin of the coins, and name recognition grew from there.

"It worked," Herschend said. "It created word of mouth that all the paid advertising in the world really couldn't have done."

Forty-three years later that has changed.

"It was the right decision then," he said, but future expansion calls for a new approach. "We always are looking and searching for that right combination of places to be in. When we go in, we want a name that doesn't get in our way."

While the name is intended to make expansion plans easier, there are no plans to speak of, Herschend said.

Local production

The firm has ownership in 15 properties in five states. The Branson attractions owned by Herschend Family Entertainment are Silver Dollar City, Showboat Branson Belle, White Water, The Grand Village, Talking Rocks Cavern, Dixie Stampede, Ride the Ducks, Silver Dollar City Campground and the soon-to-open Celebration City.

Outside of Missouri, it owns Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta and is partnered with Dolly Parton in Dollywood, Dolly's Splash Country and the Dixie Stampede dinner and show theaters in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Myrtle Beach, S.C. and a new location in Orlando, Fla., which is scheduled to open in May 2003. There are 5,000 employees among the properties, which draw more than 10 million guests annually.

Locally, Silver Dollar City theme park is projected to bring in nearly 2.1 million visitors in 2002, the same mark it reached last year, according to Lisa Rau, director of public relations.

Park officials were hoping to exceed last year's figures after experiencing a surge in summer attendance, but a slow holiday season has diminished those hopes.

"We went into fall and Christmas ahead of last year," Rau said. "We basically have lost a lot of that ground we made over the summer."

Celebration City

Construction is ongoing at the newest Herschend Family Entertainment theme park, Celebration City, which is expected to open in May. The $40 million nighttime theme park in Branson is designed to highlight certain eras of the 20th century.

Last month, Great Coasters International of Sunbury, Penn. began construction of its $4-million, eight-story roller coaster, named Ozark WildCat. Great Coasters International also designed the coaster. Ozark WildCat is one of three roller coasters planned for the park. There will be about 20 rides and attractions in all, Rau said.

A recent trend noticed at Silver Dollar City appears promising for the new park. Rau said Silver Dollar City has seen an increase in younger, Generation-X families, "which is just the direction we're looking toward as we're developing things like Celebration City."