Parks! America Business Quality Report (PRKA) - June 2021 Update
Parks! America, Inc. is an entertainment company focused on the theme park space. This Parks America business quality report is an update of my original report published in September 2018. Parks! America is an excellent-quality company based on my quality ranking system. An update is required because in my original report, I rated Parks America an average business.
Basic Company Information
Company Name: Parks! America, Inc.
Ticker: PRKA
Quality Ranking: Excellent (5)
Primary Reason: A low maintenance local monopoly
Size: Nano-Cap
Last Updated: 06/07/2021
Key Points
Entertainment companies generally have pricing power because they sell happiness and joy, Parks! America is no different.
The animal safari business model is uniquely set up to be a low-cost, high return on capital operation because visitors feed the animals in place of employees at a zoo.
Animal Safaris draw customers primarily from the local area with a focus on repeat business. This creates a market incentive for local monopolies to form and safari operators to not compete with each other.
Parks! America’s Business Quality Description:
Parks America operates three animal safari theme parks in the United States. The parks are located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, Bryan, TX, and Stafford, Missouri. Each park consists of a drive-thru animal safari with animals allowed the freedom to roam and a more typical zoo-type enclosure for some animals. Each of these parks occupy a unique niche of entertainment for the local area and they draw visitors from the closest nearby metro areas. Visitors may drive 1-2 hours to visit an animal safari park.
The Wild Animal Safari Park is basically a zoo with at twist. You’re able to drive your car or a rented car through the safari with the animals all around you. Instead of cages, the animals are free to come up directly to your vehicle for your family to feed. Parks America earns revenue through ticket sales, feed sales, and souvenirs. Based on my analysis, a significant portion of the revenue comes from ticket and feed sales.
One noted observation from customer reviews is that cars tend to become beat up over time by the animals. This is a risk for anyone who drives their own vehicle into the park and could lead to negative reviews for the company.