Situated on the doorstep of summer and with the full extent of FOBT stakes and prizes cuts now known, Park Avenue Open Day could not be better positioned as a crucial industry event comments Electrocoin’s business development director, and open day organiser Kevin Weir.
Coinslot: With your experience in the field, how do you assess the market in 2018? What product types are doing well and driving growth?
Kevin Weir: “So far, business in 2018 has been quite buoyant, with the recent good weather and FOBT news adding to that feeling. However, as ever, that ‘feeling’ is product driven. From an Electrocoin point of view, there have been a number of notable success stories across all sectors of our business.
“Digital Cat C continues to grow, with our different cabinet options, i.e. Electra and Gemstar Eclipse having appeal across all sectors of business from pubs, through to arcades and bingo. The new range of games has proven to be popular and repeat orders are now flowing in. In addition, redemption continues to expand and we have seen significant growth in our Elmac ticket eater business as well as our Intercard cashless card system.
“In addition, the old favourites have done well such as pinball and the new DDR from Konami, which goes to prove that there is still longevity in the market
for a quality product.”
CS: What do you feel are the prevailing market trends at present, be it economic, social perception etc?
KW: “We appear to be ‘treading water’ at present. There is something of a ‘wait and see’ attitude possibly driven by the Brexit uncertainty. However, spending
does seem to be holding up and long may that continue.”
CS: How important do you feel the timing of Park Avenue is for networking?
KW: “This is a major opportunity and we have already received enquiries from operators looking to invest. There has been a great deal of negativity caused by
FOBT’s on the high street and it is not surprising that operators are looking forward with optimism. Hopefully the new regulations will come in sooner rather
than later so that the playing field will be level for 2019.”
CS: Does the more focused nature of the show help this networking?
KW: “Open day is a great networking opportunity in an informal environment. The chance to demonstrate and chat about product over a glass of bubbly and Greek BBQ is unique and has proven to be a winner with customers and participating companies alike. It is often the case at trade shows that customers do not have time to chat and explore potential opportunities, however we have found over the years that Open Day presents an environment that ensures this is
possible.”
CS: Both for yourself and the wider market, what do you perceive to be growth areas going forward?
KW: “There is little doubt that cashless management systems such as Intercard as well as ticket redemption in the form of Galileo with its management system
backup are moving forward at a pace. These areas of business in addition to TITO have seen major investment in the past 12 months, with operators seeing
the benefits very quickly. The vast majority of Monte Carlo Elektra being sited in arcades and bingo at present are being installed into TITO sites and we look forward to having a cashless opportunity in the pub sector shortly.”
Coinslot June 1st – June 7th 2018, 2579 Page 18
