“In SAGSE Panama we sold all the equipments in exhibition”

What products did you present in Panama and what feedback have you had from the operators present at the show?
José Luis González Sanz: We have broughts the Vision Casino cabinet to Panama, whose machines we have already installed and working properly. And the truth is that we had a big surprise, because we had not planned to sell equipment at the show, and we have sold everything we brought. It is very satisfactory for us.

Judith Barrientos Palacios: We had several models of machines in exhibition. Among the Premium ones, we find the Highflyer, which is double screen and has quite a comfortable chair, so it is very attractive. And the Vision Casino is a new model, which, from its release in an “upright” format (with the same characteristics and image that Merkur wants to have, which was homologated as the slant top), has been very successful worldwide.

It had merely local assistants or there were assistants from near countries?
JLGS: There were local assistants and people from Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Curacao and Aruba. In general, quite a lot of people has come, so we are very pleased with the number of visitors.

What market share do you have in Panama, and what are your aspirations for the short and medium term?
JLGS: Here we are starting. The first machines have been installed last year, and so far we have a very low market share, but we expect to reach a 10%, although I am content with a 4% or 5% at the end of this year.

And talking about Latin America, In which other markets or regions do you expect to see an important growth for Merkur?
JLGS: We will mainly keep on growing in Mexico, where we are already talking about 1,600 machines, and we want to reach the 2,600 at the end of this year. We are also entering in Dominican Republic, Curacao, Aruba and Panama; which, of course, after Mexico, we believe will be our second main market in North and Central America.

Then, Colombia is a very strong market, and in Peru we have installed the first machines, so we are doing fine. But, to sum up, I think that, at the moment, the place where Merkur has more potential is Mexico, Colombia, Panama and Peru.

What difference have you noted with the new venue and the change of date?
JLGS: There are positive and negative things. We liked more the place in which it was held last year, but here we were very comfortable and we obtained very good results, so we are very satisfied with SAGSE results.