“Alfastreet creates products that are an added value to casinos”
(Exclusive interview).- Alfastreet highlights the importance of participating at ICE.
Being one of the defining companies of gaming industry, Alfastreet’s performance at ICE Totally Gaming has always come with relevant results. In order to keep innovating international casino floors, the traditional brand presented its latest technology and is preparing upcoming products that always respect the highest standards of clients’ demands. The Sales Director at Alfastreet Albert Radman shared with Focus Gaming News the company’s review on the show and the future of the casino industry.
You’ve recently said that exhibitions are important to showcase products, to reach out to your customers, and to make sure you are noticed among the visitors of the show. How important was ICE for Alfastreet?
ICE is indeed the must attend event and the experience is always positive. This year’s attendance was perhaps slightly smaller but the quality was still there. All of the three days were busy for us and our expectations were completely fulfilled. The ICE show is truly an event that brings in quality visitors, and the attendance is comprehensive from almost every part of the world. I believe the attendance would be even better if the organisers would consider the Chinese New Year and try to avoid the proximity between the dates. In this case, the attendance from the Asia would be considerably stronger. The benefits of such event are hard to define so specifically, because a gaming company attends many events and does multiple consequent promotions. We’re staying in contact with all of the operators and it’s hard to award a benefit of the business just to one single event. Still, ICE is truly important key event for any gaming company.
Last year you confirmed that you were working on big projects that are supposed to see the light this year. What does 2017 have in store for Alfastreet?
2017 will bring some new additions to Alfastreet and with these, we will definitely get some attention from the gaming community. As always, we constantly work on creating not just something new, but also something that is actually useful and sell able.
We see too many companies showcasing different concepts, prototypes that look really ‘cool’, but everyone already knows that this product has no use the casino floor. Well, such products are good for some marketing campaigns or even to convince the bank that you have the next ‘big thing’. I could compare this kind of promotion as the car exhibition. All these car manufacturers present their concept cars, which gather huge attention and crowd cheering. Yet in the back office, they’re collecting orders for their regular models, the ones that can actually drive the road.
Anyway, at Alfastreet we create products that are carefully put together and are an added value to the casino floor. This year will be the same, as we’re going to present some really new products and features.
How was the public response to your definitive version of a brand new Lucky 8 Roulette cabinet?
Lucky 8’s destiny was to conquer the gaming venues with a smaller floor space and the ones that require durable and ‘tough’ machine. Compared to our standard model, R8 roulette, this one is different in many aspects and so far, the response is as expected. Lucky 8 found it’s way in multiple venue around the world, and this year it’s going to be a highlighted product in the upcoming shows in Spain, Latin America and even US. Alfastreet always has the advantage of the extreme adaptability to client’s wishes.
2017 will bring some new additions to Alfastreet and with these, we will definitely get some attention from the gaming community. As always, we constantly work on creating not just something new, but also something that is actually useful and sell able.
Did the contact with the public helped you achieve goals you had for this year’s edition?
We carefully listen to everything a client has to say, we also listen to technicians, players, even the innocent bystanders. We take great attention to all the comments and experiences that we witness and we consider every single one. This is the reason why our products are so successful in different jurisdictions around the world. Furthermore, Alfastreet also stands out when it comes to customising a product for a specific client. Instead of going through a ton of paper work and time consuming procedures, we do the changes on the product immediately and with no hassle. This is something that truly brings extra value to our brand and guarantees a loyal customer for the future. Today’s operator needs a small and flexible company on the other side of the line, because he knows that this company will help him and appreciate his business. The giants in the industry can’t do things that simple, or they even can not do it at all. These companies are simply too big and the processes too complicated, and this is scaring the operator. That’s why the preference for tomorrow is going to be to work with smaller gaming suppliers, the ones that know how to listen and how to assist, and in these cases, the appreciation is always mutual.
What are the next targeted markets for Alfastreet?
In the future we have few markets in sight, particularly the very few where we don’t dominate completely, in our field of products. These are ‘special’ projects and we’re increasing our efforts, just to make sure that Alfastreet brand becomes and remains the leading brand in the field of Electronic Table Games. When I say leading, I actually mean this, although today is hard to determine who the leaders are on the market, as everyone is saying the same thing.