Focus REFLEX GAMING Testing figures
for Reflex's titles are matching the major suppliers,
though as Mr.
Stott points out, the figures are skewed by the
fact that dongle machines must index higher
because of the additional cost of the dongle.
there is much more to come as the company invests for the future and embraces new media for game delivery.”
Testing figures for Reflex's titles are matching the major suppliers, though as Mr. Stott points out, the figures are skewed by the fact that dongle machines must index higher because of the additional cost of the dongle. "If you look at the dongle as a means to extract more money from a manufacturing perspective, then the rationale stacks up," he says. "At £12 per week for 10,000 machines - that's a big number." It's not just that the market demand for machines has changed, there are now fewer pubs in the UK (4,500 pubs have closed since 2008 in England, Scotland and Wales), which means there are less pub companies with their own machine divisions. In some instances there's also been a fall in the focus on injection of newly approved machines and several pub companies are no longer ensuring they get their full allocation.
FAST TO REACT
AND WITH A GREAT PORTFOLIO OF
GAMES, REFLEX IS QUICK ON ITS FEET TO ADAPT TO
CHANGES IN THE MARKET WHICH
HAVEN'T ALL BEEN NEGATIVE.
"The dongle scenario is the
stirred things up in the marketplace. Charging £12 per week for a dongle has raised the price to market of each machine and retailer/operator response has been to support a competing product. "The dongle scenario is the biggest threat to the UK gaming sector for a long, long time," states Mr. Stott. "Our conversations direct with retailers and operators show that they are looking to have the dongle situation contained. Closures, the selling of properties and community pubs, has all impacted the street sector in the UK. The view of Reflex from the operators' and retailers' perspective is that we are independent. And that's a great position to be in, but there's pressure too. We know that we need to keep coming out with great games as our customers need us to step up to the plate. Our standing in the industry in the last 12 months has rocketed. We are on the gaming map in
the UK with established reel-based gaming and new digital product that will take us to the next level."
Industry veteran John Bonner made an investment in Reflex back in 2008. John sold his original company BWB to Barcrest in 1990 before becoming a shareholder in the Bell Fruit Group with Gauselmann until its sale to Danoptra in 2004. “I worked with Quentin and Simon for a number of years and always believed that they would be successful with Reflex. They have developed a lean, reactive team that has all the technical ability and market experience it needs to react to market changes as and when they arise, particularly in the UK. The ascendancy of Reflex in the UK pub market has been a classic example of its ability to rapidly take advantage of an opportunity and my firm belief is that
biggest threat to the UK gaming
sector for a long, long time. Our
conversations direct with retailers and operators show that they are
looking to have the dongle situation contained.”
QUENTIN STOTT, Reflex Gaming.
As a result, retailers are further squeezing operators on price and operators are looking to sweat their assets for longer. At the same time, with so much consolidation in the market, the distribution side of the UK market, which tied together all the small-medium sized operators across the country, now have less customers to chase. Operators demanding 5-10 machines per month are in such low numbers that this type of distribution model is becoming less viable. In addition, the consolidation of customers and their suppliers means that companies such as Reflex know all the relevant buyers directly. Fast to react and with a great portfolio of games, Reflex is quick on its feet to adapt to changes in the marketplace, which haven't all been negative. Retailers and operators are currently more forgiving with time scales than in the past, and that's across the whole supply chain in general. Distributors continue to distribute Reflex product and have a role to play, especially in offering finance or part exchange deals, but the where direct sales were relatively few and far between in the UK market in
February 2013 PAGE 55
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