Shigeki Machida, MD of Matsui Asia Ltd, explains how his company’s commitment to quality and speedy service has gained his products a loyal and growing following across the region
MATSUI gaming chips were among the first products to receive approval from Singapore’s fastidious Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), as early as November last year. The CRA’s rigorous screening process involved a visit to Matsui’s production facility in Korea.
Matsui claims to now supply the majority of casino operators in Asia with its value chips, wheelchecks, plaques and RFID products. Its product range also includes highly durable synthetic layouts, traditional wool layouts, and innovative table accessories such as Carmanah LCD Table Signs.
Shigeki Machida, MD of Matsui Asia Ltd, Matsui’s Macau sales office, spoke to Inside Asian Gaming during the recent G2E Asia expo at Venetian Macau about the strong following his products have been earning across the region.
IAG: What response did you get to Matsui products at G2E Asia? Please tell us about any sales you have confirmed, if possible.
Shigeki Machida: At G2E Asia, a huge number of people visited our stand, as usual. We’d like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all those customers and friends who visited us. Although the weather was not so good, it was the most successful show ever for Matsui Asia since G2E Asia started.
The show has lead to many orders for us already. An example is a chip order from one of the Cotai projects. Also, we have received several chip and layout orders from different areas like the Philippines, Cambodia, India and Laos.
What Asian markets are you targeting for sales growth in the second half of 2010?
We have stable sales performance in Macau and expect more in the second half of 2010 because of the new projects in Cotai.
We are also looking at Cambodia and Vietnam because more licenses seem to be issued there in the next couple of years. Our gaming chips and layouts are very popular among the operators in those areas, where most of the casinos use our products somehow. We will try to keep our strong presence there.
One very important market rising recently is obviously India. As India’s economy grows, the casino market there is expanding very rapidly.
Why are you targeting those markets?
Speaking about India, it is a very new market for all of us. Although there will be a lot of hurdles to overcome before the entertainment industry is deeply ingrained there, it is going to be a huge market once fully opened. Mainland Chinese people have to come to Macau for gambling. And this will not change for the foreseeable future. However, in India, the possibility is infinite at this stage.
One good example we are looking at is of the Japanese motor manufacturer, Suzuki. In India, they have started their sales much earlier than other competitors’ arrival to the marketplace. They invested a lot of money and brought manpower to establish their brand from the beginning. And now their car is the number one brand there when the market is blooming. We are taking the same strategy in this potential market.
Many casinos seem to adopt a policy of using multiple suppliers for their chips, not just one supplier. Are you trying to change that? If so, why should casinos use Matsui chips and not those of your rivals?
Of course you are very happy if your customers choose your product only. But it is very difficult in a marketplace like Macau, where the disposition for purchasing is so mature. Also, it is very natural that the operators go to a few different suppliers for one product as the volume they need here is huge.
However, outside of Macau, most of our customers choose only Matsui for their chips and layouts. We are a one stop shop for those items. In most cases, the gaming floors at our customers’ facilities exclusively use Matsui Chips and layouts.
Actually, there are only a few chip manufacturers who are capable of providing this service. You need to have a very wide product range with a variety of chip design, different materials, etc, which require different production methods.
Everything has to be done professionally within a very short time frame. Speed is the most important concept we put our value on… and this fits Asian business culture very well. That is why we keep growing steadily.
Talking more about the competition, recently many casino products have been coming from China. Maybe it is okay for some of the items, but this is not applicable to gaming chips.
I heard one story from an operator before. They ordered their chips to be produced at a factory in China. The prices offered by the factory were so attractive that their boss decided to sign the order. The quality was not good and they were late for the original delivery date, but it was acceptable because they could lower the budget significantly.
After the casino started using the chips, one day, they realised that they have almost 20% more chips than they originally bought. They looked for counterfeits, but they could not find any. All the chips looked okay.
The truth was, those additional chips were not a copy or counterfeit but the “original” chips the factory produced.
It didn’t look like there was any problem with the factory and it seemed to be controlled very well, but when the factory executives were away, their workers made the customer’s chips using the same material. And somebody brought those chips to the casino. You can not tell which chip is real and which one is fake, because they are exactly the same.
This story makes it clear that, for gaming chips, you must go to an established company because it is currency for casino operators.
You sell many other gaming products, not just chips. Please explain how you are marketing and building Asian sales of your other products, such as layouts, tables, wheels and playing cards.
Our core item is MATSUI CHIPS and the second one is MATSUI LAYOUT, which we offer in both synthetic and traditional wool material. These layouts also sell very well. We supply to many casinos in Macau and to many properties all over Asia. We also produce roulette wheels and handle a few different brands of playing cards from our partners.
When you renew your chips, there is usually also a rebranding or renovation of your facility involved somehow. Thus, we also propose they purchase our layouts with brand new designs and also other equipment such as our LCD table limit signs to upgrade their floor image. All the artwork development process goes together and the customer can get the same brand image or same concept for all the equipment.
Matsui recently joined the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers. Please explain how you think membership of AGEM will help your business globally, and specifically in Asia?
Honestly, we had not thought that being a member of a manufacturers’ organization would help our business.
However, we realised it is getting increasingly important recently, with authorities in new markets taking a strict approach to casino equipment suppliers. Matsui Chips were approved by Singapore’s CRA [Casino Regulatory Authority].
There are only 2 chip manufacturers, including Matsui, who have been licensed in Singapore so far. We spent a lot of energy on this licensing process because they [the CRA] had to check us from zero. We expect it is easier to introduce ourselves or let them understand who we are at the beginning of the process if we are a member of an established association, such as AGEM.
