Review ICE TOTALLY GAMING 2015
The arrival of Jens Halle has already had a huge impact at Merkur Gaming, but it marks just the start of a new era of international expansion and growth
Whatever product splash Merkur Gaming was planning to make at the ICE 2015 show in London was significantly overshadowed by the January announcement that Jens Halle would be joining the company. All eyes on the stand were pointed in one direction, with the impact of the move having been felt right across international markets, throughout the trade show, and perhaps most specifically, across a Merkur Gaming booth at ICE that was busier than it’s ever been.
The arrival of Mr. Halle at Merkur Gaming cannot be underestimated. Merkur’s home market, Germany, is readying itself for a massive transition as new gaming regulations in the next two years are set to severely restrict market conditions in the country’s enormous street sector, the domestic mainstay of parent company, the Gauselmann Group. The focus for the company must be intensified in international markets to ensure the future growth of the business, and the arrival of Jens Halle as CEO of Merkur Gaming could not be more judiciously timed.
Speaking to Gauselmann AG Director of Communications, Mario Hoffmeister, at the ICE show, he underlined the importance of Merkur Gaming’s international focus and the recent appointment of Mr. Halle. “With Jens Halle we have the perfect representative for the company and our range of ‘Made in Germany’ Merkur Gaming products,” said Mr. Hoffmeister. “We believe we have the best man and the best products. It’s a perfect combination.”
“At Merkur Gaming we recognise that each gaming market is different and know that we must develop specific gaming solutions for every market,” continued Mr. Hoffmeister. “Together with our technical directors and Mr. Halle, we are identifying and developing market-specific content as part of a new era for Merkur Gaming. We are taking a hard look at the products we create, and where we need to develop multi- games, standalone games, or jackpot systems etc., we will develop products in those directions. We know that we have to develop games not just for Germany, but for the rest of the world. We have shown that we have a successful model in the UK market, both in terms of game development and operations. We have arcades spread across Europe and strong partnerships in the largest gaming markets worldwide. We are building on this strength in knowledge and expertise.”
5 0 Jürgen Stühmeyer (Member of Gauselmann Board) and Jens Halle (CEO Merkur Gaming) A NEW ERA FOR MERKUR GAMING
“We are a family-owned company with a CEO with over 50 years’ experience in this business,” stated Mr. Hoffmeister. “We stand for continuity and stability. Merkur Gaming is not a faceless entity, a hedge-fund owned business. We are family-owned and managed, visible and clear business. It’s one of the reasons that we have been so successful in Germany, as the Gauselmann family values and spirit runs through everything that we do - and it’s for this reason that we will light a fire in international markets too.”
The Gauselmann Group is in no doubt that Jens Halle, as one of the best known industry figures, is the right man to expand Merkur Gaming’s international footprint . Chairman Paul Gauselmann knew exactly what he was doing when he invited Mr. Halle to join the business. “We have the perfect link between international sales and development,” agreed Mr. Hoffmeister.
“We recognise that our focus on international product has not been strong enough in the past, but there’s a significant change with Mr. Halle coming to the brand. We now have a link between the market and research and development that presents both big changes and big opportunities to create the right products for the right markets. The Gauselmann Group is very open to those changes, as we recognise the importance of our international focus.”
The process will be step-by-step described Mr. Hoffmeister of the objectives that lie ahead for Merkur Gaming. “We are re-evaluating the markets in which we are active, to analyse and better understand the business through diligent research with the aim of strengthening existing market sectors, and then step-by-step building market-by-market success with structured expansion into international territories,” concluded Mr. Hoffmeister.
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