FEG CEO: We have a “significant opportunity” to take market share
Victor Corcoran bullish on his firm’s chances of success by following localisation plan after battling against backdrop of inflation
Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) CEO Victor Corcoran has championed the “significant opportunity” for the firm in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Corcoran joined the Prague-headquartered operator in September 2022 after almost four years at Paddy Power.
FEG is one of the major players in CEE via its Fortuna, PSK and Casa Pariurilor brands and Corcoran is bullish on his future hopes for the company.
FEG is live in its native Czechia, as well as Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Croatia.
Speaking on Xtremepush’s Experts in the Room podcast, the Irishman said he was confident on the medium and long-term success of the business but warned the company needs to face up to some short-term difficulties.
Corcoran cited the ongoing war in Ukraine and the economic downturn impacting on discretionary spend in CEE as core short-term issues, as well as growing inflation and costs around running the business.
However, the CEO laid out his expectations for the future should the brand successfully manage the challenges.
He said: “I would be optimistic in the medium term because I’ve joined a business whereby we have strong local teams, strong local brands and I think we can make improvements on product.
“That’s where I’ve been focusing. I think if we focus next year properly, we have significant opportunity to take share in our chosen markets.
“I’m optimistic and excited for the business, but I’m cautious in the short term. I would be cautious about investment, cautious about spending money, because it’s highly likely that our customers will have less money to spend,” he added.
Elsewhere, Corcoran also spoke about the importance of building a local product to resonate with customers as a means to expand market share.
He continued: “I’m pushing a vision whereby we really look to be as close and as local as possible.
“In Czechia, we obsess about having the best product proposition and brand connection, and in Romania we do the same thing.
“If you don’t do that, my fear is you end up building the lowest common denominator. And I’d rather build less, but really, really localised,” he added.