Hanging Out with Mark Purdy | Reflex Gaming’s Business Development Director

What inspired you to join Reflex Gaming and how has your journey been so far?

I joined 6-months ago after a meeting with Quentin in the Newark office, it immediately felt ‘right’, there was a mutual passion for the business, both UK and beyond, and it seemed a great fit for both parties. I loved the products, knew our customers and had missed interacting with some of the characters!

Reflex has a dynamic reputation, an exciting portfolio and has achieved huge success over the past 20 years. I wanted to reacquaint myself with the pub trade and operators and bring my experience and fresh ideas to a familiar sector.

My journey so far has been fantastic. I’ve been warmly welcomed both internally and externally and immediately felt like part of the Reflex family. I’ve spent a healthy amount of time learning about the product range, identifying any gaps and opportunities for additional products, and exploring new sectors.

Can you walk us through a typical day in your role as Business Development Director?

My day starts with a small commute from Southampton to Newark-on-Trent!

My role is eclectic. Some days, I might be presenting our group strategy to a corporate client, other days I’m out in the van delivering the latest machines to a test site.

I utilise our in-house Slingshot platform and liaise with the BI team to review the latest cabinet deployments and game releases. I also spend time in the factory interacting with the latest developments and form factors. Playing and learning our new games is essential too.

A large part of my role is to identify new sectors and customers, building and growing relationships with existing and new clients. I enjoy getting out and about visiting customer venues, which in my opinion, is crucial for listening, learning, and continuously tweaking and enhancing our portfolio.

A massive benefit of Reflex is our dynamic communication style. We’re not inhibited by power dynamics or hierarchy - jobs just get done!

Customer visits to Reflex are a regular occurrence too, the door is always open, and the kettle is always on.

Can you share any insights into the development process of the new upcoming game menus: Pulse Premium and Megastar?

We designed both new menus to meet specific customer needs. We leveraged learnings from our market-leading performance on the Cyclone cabinet. We wanted to create a unique personality that delivers diversity but familiarity across our machines and form factors.

Pulse Premium elevates our game and UI offer on our proven Game Pro range of cabinets. Operators and players will benefit from an all-new ‘Edge to Edge’ clear and easily navigable themed subscription menu with a full game release suite, including our new Gamble Plus titles.

The Megastar menu, with its permanent licence meaning no ongoing content fees, is available now and features a similarly styled but uniquely themed ‘Edge to Edge’ layout with a fixed game list curated from our biggest performing legacy and new titles.

In addition to the Cyclone, Pulse, Community Cat C and Hybrid Fusion offers, the introduction of the Premium and Megastar menus, really ensure that we are a one-stop-shop for all gaming sectors.

How do you stay updated with industry trends and ensure Reflex Gaming stays ahead of the competition?

I am naturally a curious individual, I am a player at heart, and I listen! I love the old classics. I also seek out and enjoy new innovations, it’s great to see a theme or game mechanic get adopted and evolve across our industry.

We need to retain our existing players, they want to be entertained and to do so, it’s important that we continually bring innovation to our games.

Attracting new players to our portfolio is crucial too, for instance, online games have shifted the audience demographics to 40% female, different from the land-based pub and club games where traditionally a male player bias exists, we can learn from our online successes and execute in AGC and especially Bingo where this bias is challenged.

Our online development team and partners help leverage all iGaming trends and favourites, while our in-house ‘Family brands’ are recognisable across our land-based estates. Whether it’s in a pub, club, bingo hall, or arcade, that cross-channel ‘walk up factor’ is evident.

Trade shows such as ACOS and ICE are invaluable sources of insight from our customers and competitors. We’ll be attending October’s G2E show in Las Vegas, where we’ll present our upcoming roadmap to customers. It’s also a good opportunity to learn about global gaming trends and innovations that could resonate with our UK customers.

What are your goals and aspirations for Reflex Gaming, and how do you see your role evolving in the future?

Our Cyclone cab is on its way to becoming an industry benchmark for performance. We want to penetrate new markets and establish a strong presence in the AGC and bingo sectors. We are also exploring LBO and B3 opportunities.

We’re focused on developing new form factors and innovations that will drive the cashbox despite delays in legislation or tech standards.

On a personal level, I aim for growth through contributions to industry development and I want to be instrumental in Reflex’s ongoing success, helping to secure that for the next 20 years.

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23 July 2024

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