Kimberley Hibbert – Jamaica Observer – February 14, 2021
CHIEF executive officer (CEO) of Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) subsidiary Prime Sports Ltd, Xesus Johnston, says the company is placing greater focus on its product, distribution and brand to effectively compete with the new lottery player Mahoe Gaming, which last week broke the gaming monopoly that SVL has held since 2001.
With just one week in with the competition, Johnston said the product adjustments, the most recent being the move to introduce $305 for every $10 winning on CashPot, has generated a lot of interest from players with the CashPot product.
“Our thought and vision has always been, regardless of competition, that we have to have the best product in the market, the best distribution in the market and we have to build the best brands in the market. Those three areas have always been the focus of the business and helps us to actually face the competitors and to perform well. Since the competitors launched, what we have done with our products has seen double-digit increases in sales. That’s positive and tells us we are doing the right thing for the customers who want a gaming or entertainment product in the market,” Johnston said.
He added: “If you think about distribution, traditionally it was only through retailers – brick and mortar. We’ve now added digital – online, where we now have our games online and you can purchase from SV Games with a debit or credit card. Plus, we’ve added another innovative sales channel called Super Sellers which is individuals who can walk on the streets with a wireless terminal and sell our gaming products by meeting customers in their neighbourhoods or high-traffic areas. Having a strong sales channel is important and being able to differentiate where you have traditional retailers and where you have mobile apps in the digital space where you can buy the products.”
Further, Johnston said SVL is still in a growth and innovation phase and will be looking to expand to 2,000 super sellers in the market.
“A lot of what we’re doing is about how we efficiently deliver to our customers the products and services that they need, and it requires building an extensive ecosystem that retail channels — both the fixed and online — are apart of , and that drives our business,” he said.
But, despite the realignment efforts, Johnston said a main challenge is complaints from buyers about channel conflict.
