This is a Feng Shui case for a dance club done in November 2010. We have the client’s permission to reveal necessary information on its Feng Shui. The location is in a second tier city, Southwest of China. A highland dragon and the city’s Water mouth in 癸丑 Northeast. The unit occupies 1st and 2nd floors of a mall-cum-office building in the business district.

Watermouth in 癸丑

It is the first dance club venture for the investors who are mainly in credit and mining businesses. This city’s dance club scene has quieten down after its last peak in 2003-2008, leaving a smaller pie to 3 national wide brand names such as Soho 蘇荷 competing. The investors have no prior experience in entertainment industry. They simply wanted to inject a breath of fresh air into the city’s nightlife by catering to the working crowd. A diversity from the pack of sleazy karaoke with hostess.

By the investors’ own admission, it is a high-risk investment. It turns out to be a high cost investment too. Due to their inexperience, the whole set up exceeded its budget. A club of 24,000 square feet normally cost about CNY12-14m (est. USD1.84-2.14m) to set up. This club would cost them CNY17m (est.USD2.6m).

I was hired late into the project. When I arrived, it was 2 weeks before their Grand Opening, which would see Hong Kong movie stars attending the occasion. The layout could not be changed. The workers were working 24 hours round the clock to meet the deadline in December.

1st Floor Layout

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Lighting reconfigured.

1. Lightings: Spreaded out the lighting in the whole premise. It is impossible to achieve an evenly lit environment in a dance club. What we achieved was a better spread of lightings without compromising its atmosphere.

2. Back Office: The whole back office was aligned to face South using Xuan Kong Da Gua. San He 72 dragon was used to complement the directional Qi. The top management was allocated according to their personal gua using Xuan Kong. Giving the management office a different dynamic XK chart from the club section.

Ths side door for staff was pulled in by 3ft.

3. Side Door: Pulled in the side door by 3 feet to connect Qi and to meet Xuan Kong Da Gua formation for the whole premise.

4. Cash Register: Located the cash register at the Main entrance / reception. (The management moved it back to the West sector after opening. It is a practice in China that only karaokes with hostess have their cash register at the Main entrance. A dance club would give the consumers the ‘wrong’ impression with its cash register at its entrance.)

Canvas for whole of this external corridor

5. Main Entrance: The Main Door was pushed out by 1.5 feet. The external lobby has escalator on the left of the Door and a lift on its right. I made used of these features and designed a canvas stretching along the whole external corridor.

6. Ceiling: Re-designed the volume by adjusting and balancing the ceiling height of the whole premise.

Dance floor ceiling was adjusted.

7. DJ Stand: Located the DJ stand using Xuan Kong. Aligned it with San He and tapping it to the Watermouth.  While, San Yuan’s Xuan Kong Da Gua was used as a check which was tapped to the nearest Qi mouth.

Prayers

8. Kitchen: Stove wasn’t installed when I arrived. We changed its location to NE sector.

9. Date Selection: There was nothing I could do about the Renovation start date and the Opening date.  Half of the management team is from Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and, they are mostly Taoists.  I selected the date for prayers for the staff and management team and recommended the session to be held at the Main entrance.

10. CEO: Aligned his bed in his downtown apartment.


RESULTS

Bottom line: The club is packed everyday from day 1, Monday to Sunday. (Yes, Sundays too.) It is now the most popular dance club in the city. Its entry has effectively increased the market pie. The nearest competition Sohu has seen an increase of revenue over same period. Average taking for the first 4 months is CNY4.8m per month. This is 30% above their expectation.

Demography: This is a Dui House and both San He and San Yuan formations are using You酉 24-mountain.  Once, the formations meet their Yin-Yang, it is not surprising that the club’s patrons/members are mainly white collar ladies. This is exactly the demography the club has targeted and needs in order to sustain its lure as the most happening dance club for the city.

ISSUES:

  • Staff turnover is as high as competition, which is an industry norm.
  • There will be structural and time limitation with the current success. This was communicated to the client before I accepted the project. I did not select the site and design the structural flow of the layout. We used Feng Shui to improve the Qi flow. But we did not and could not changed the structural limitations and flow.
  • Its Qi flow will start to diminish and exhaust from Start of Autumn 立秋 (8th August). I have recommended that the management renovate the side door and pull it in by another 5 feet from where it is now during the Major Heat 大暑 (23 July) period. This is to enable the Heavenly Heart to connect better with both doors, matching both San He and XKDG formations.
  • I also recommended that they bring the cash register back to the reception.
  • Once above recommendation are implemented, the club will maintain its revenue and memberships.  While, the investor should see a return on their investment within 18 months from the Grand Opening.

Unlike, other types of Feng Shui such as Residential Feng Shui, Commercial Feng Shui which deals with B-to-C sales is the most specific and tangible type of Feng Shui.  The job of the practitioner is to literally pump up the (traffic) volume.  The way to do it is to study the Feng Shui limitations and capacity potential by investigating the Qi map and taking the time to understand the Subject’s business and expectations.  Then, the practitioner ought to translate the limitations and capacity potential in dollar terms and longevity of the business to the client before proceeding with one’s Feng Shui services.

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