EAG 2017 EAG: The verdict
We gauged a vox-pop of opinion on this year’s combined EAG International and Visitor Attraction Expo at ExCeL, to see what exhibitors thought of visitor numbers, order books and whether it had that unquantifiable show- floor ‘buzz’…
but Thursday was poor as expected. As far as our stand was concerned, we were pleased with the response to a number of new products, including Co Co Egg capsule/redemption machine, as well as our new Generation Panther Photobooth from Digital Centre, which attracted a huge amount of attention with its two metre high advertising panel. “Our MD John Stergides, was disappointed with the volume of visitors not staying overnight and believes that if the show was moved to Olympia, that customers would stay over and visit for two days.”
E
AG International returned to ExCeL last month, again combining with the Visitor
Attractions Expo for a three day showcase of arcade games, prize games, redemption, rides and assorted back-end functions crucial for amusement and entertainment businesses.
With no audited visitor numbers released, the success of the show is very much quantified by visitor feedback and perception, although there is no disguising exhibitor numbers, especially in a venue like ExCeL. This year’s show saw a number of new exhibitors including, Barron Games, Direct Leisure, Heber, Huatong Technology, Huggables, JayBox, Lockyers, Play Fitters, Valley- Dynamo and the Yuehua Token Co. So there is forward momentum with the show, and plenty of international interest, but as long as people are left to count the visitors themselves there will always be mutterings as to just how much of a success the show is. Exhibitors will inevitably refer to the always indefinable ‘buzz’ around the
14
www.globalamusementsandplay.com
show, and look to their order books for real evidence of whether the stand paid for itself or not. Of the exhibitors we spoke to, few
had much to say in the way of negative feedback, in fact, across all sectors of the market, there was a positivity towards the event and, it seems, other than the odd preference for this venue or that venue (which are inevitable) and question marks about needing a three-day show, there seems to be no groundswell of desire for the event to change much at all. It will of course, as all shows must if they want to remain relevant to their sector, but as long as it reflects the pace of change within the market, keeping step with emerging tech such as VR and AR and shifting payment solutions among other things, it seems there’s no radical overhaul needed or wanted. For now at least.
Kevin Weir, business development director, Electrocoin Sales “The show was okay, but not the busiest we have seen. Tuesday and Wednesday were similar in numbers
Anette Jauch, sales director, CPI “EAG was the ideal opportunity for UK operators to see the difference CPI makes in all realms of cash handling and cashless management systems. CPI supplies virtually all payment options an operator may require. I am happy that we made the decision to exhibit at EAG with our entire range of payment products and we’re sure to consider participating again next year.”
John Vallis, UK sales director, Suzohapp
“It was a great show – and busier than we expected. We have all the products and service staff in place to ensure our customers can update the new £1 coin. Cash handling products were definitely the focus for this year’s show. We were particularly pleased about the great interest for Scan Coin solutions”.
Andy Bullock, business development manager, Innovative Technology “As a company we can now offer coin, note and ticketing cash handling peripherals and Live Ticket+ received a lot of interest at EAG. The attitude towards TITO is changing, up until a
February 2017
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28