Bergamo - “For years we opened our shops waiting for customers, but now it's time to go and look for them. Retail has many facets and many aspects that are linked to market developments. We have a Ferrari in our hands and I thank those who characterize us but the tractor is useful and we can work with it to plow, fertilize and cultivate. Ours sector has great courage, it's true, because the rules change while we are in business and we insist and continue to work."
Michele Bragantini, Ceo of Robox holding, makes these effective metaphors as part of the panel “Gaming, food and beverage: building a winning experience”, organized by GiocoNews as part of the Feexpo ongoing in Bergamo, today February, the 28th.
“We have a lot to work with other sectors, from which we have a lot to learn: one of these is food, to which we have always been linked. Locations are experienced in different ways and in many aspects. The amusement area is an excellent strategic marketing lever for us and for the other sectors. It is essential to professionally grow and train.
We have two essential words: frequency and stay. Customers have to come often and for long periods.
You don't just come to us to play and then go out to eat, but the entire evening takes place inside the Fec or the amusement park. These are essential moments and offer us a great opportunity for growth."
Bragantini then observes: "Training is essential. I have had professional experience in both amusement and gambling and the quality of the insiders is essential. In this sense, we must have a comprehensive and coherent offer. Our message is based on this: to convey to those who come to us that we believe in what we do and make the business intriguing and attractive. And all operators must know how to convey this: an unkind cashier can burn millions spent on marketing, the McDonald's creator said.
The whole context serves the purpose to make the machine perfectly run and also to eliminate any problems related to the service and the facility".
TURATO'S SPEECH – The architect Danilo Turato, founder of Tecnostudio, states: “What are architects for? I often hear this question. We are a bit like pepper on a salad. We interact by listening and then proposing. We are like directors. Beauty must be efficient because efficiency generates income and there must be economic satisfaction. A new image of entertainment gaming is essential because it risks being confused with betting shops and slots, and here the great confusion existing between the two sectors of public gaming is repeated. The areas must also be inclusive to help create meeting places, gaming helps and contributes to attract customers and increase their stay on site. In the project we try to immediately represent paths, sounds and perception within the game room. This is achieved with materials, colors, graphics and other architectural actions. In the various interventions carried out in shopping centers and other retail areas we have noted the satisfaction of the manager who, with the same costs, also sees his profits increase. Any case histories? We have created game rooms in shopping centers with specific but limited activities. The intervention must not make the facility heavier and must be inexpensive in economic terms. We don't make revolutions. We can change colors, lights, replace the classic bar with the lounge: these are all actions that help make the spaces we follow more attractive,” he ends.
NEGRETTI'S SPEECH - Diego Negretti, mall promotion manager and shopping center advisor of Cushman & Wakefield, stresses: "Game halls have changed a lot in 30 years. The logic is the extreme verticalization in food but also in amusement. In gaming, some elements have been taken to extremes, such as go kart tracks both in entertainment centers and in general shopping centres" and, given this overview, he repeats: "It is essential to professionalize. Thousands of square meters alone are not enough but it is necessary to respond to the frequency and stay by working on precise and well-structured offers".
The manager also repeats how “the food and entertainment connection is very strong. Even abroad. Bar is no longer an optional to an arcade but produces revenues in the same way of the main activity.
At present, we are creating innovative formats like the go karts I mentioned before. Malls are increasingly looking for entertainment but the projects must be clear and based on precise business plans. But entertainment is increasingly present in shopping centers and we need to work on professionalisation."
BRUNO'S SPEECH - Giovanni Bruno, commercial director of Italian Food Factory, believes that "food can become an integral and not just complementary part. Those who go to play eat but those who are with them can go more willingly just because there are food areas".
According to Bruno "the proposal must be adapted based on the customers who attend the place. The duration is also important and must be modified for consumption opportunities".
Furthermore, "the square meters dedicated to food must be well structured and with qualified staff. Let's think of McDonald's, there is an on-demand offer that avoids waste but satisfies express needs, but there is also a dedicated area with lots of technology and marketing to make those square meters profitable.
Over the years, we have verified that food areas in entertainment centers were little considered or poorly targeted. The sensorial experience is essential and is the basis of the good quality of the product."