Get Lucky at Seven Luck

Foreigners-only casino strengthens marketing abroad to entice more customers to its gambling joints in Korea

President Kwon Oh-nam of Grand Korea Leisure Co.

President Kwon Oh-nam of Grand Korea Leisure, in his New Year speech, said we will work like rabbits this year to build a firm base for Seven Luck to continue to enjoy its prosperity and affluence.
The CEO spent his entire career with the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), a global trade expert, now is given a mission to upgrade Korean casino's global competitive edge by attracting many foreign tourists to Korea and strengthening CSR.
Kangwon Land has been for domestic customers, while Seven Luck is for foreigners only gambling joint with high value-added earnings leading the development of Korea's tourist service industry.
Grand Korea Leisure is out to do every it can to attract clients to its foreigners-only casino, Seven Luck, and the company has been widening its overseas marketing and tries to link the casino operation with travel and trade and also with medical services in a bid to attract more foreigners to its casino among its diverse marketing activities.
The importance of marketing grows every year, and foreigners-only casinos are no exception. Grand Korea Leisure, which operates the Seven Luck foreigners-only casino, hopes to raise more profit through active, dynamic and diverse marketing. Its marketing initiatives include increasing sales from the rise of new markets such as Southeast Asia and Russia, finding new agents, attracting foreign visitors, reinforcing relationships with partner companies, creating a class of semi-VIP clients and, of course, working to keep current leading clients.
With its T&T (Travel and Trade) strategy, Grand Korea Leisure has reinvigorated the industry. T&T is a hybrid marketing strategy that connects travel and trade through strategic cooperation. By exploiting corporate connections, the firm hopes to enjoy massive benefits, like a TNT explosion.
At casinos, which one might call the original practitioners of "free economics" through "comp" (complimentary) drinks, chips, etc., T&T is a spark of new life. Foreigners-only casinos have long used comp items in their business and marketing.
In fact, comp items are even mentioned in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism guidelines for the casino business. Casinos are allowed to give clients, depending on their level, free beverage, air tickets and accommodations.
Grand Korea Leisure is seeking a change with its T&T strategy. As casinos have drawn convention business in the United States, Grand Korea Leisure thinks that combining travel and trade and developing its cooperative marketing through various themed tour packages are one way to overcome the economic downturn. After all, Las Vegas and Macao have combined business conventions, shopping and tours with casinos for years.
Grand Korea Leisure is promoting the concept of a "business casino" as the key to the T&T strategy. The company believes that combining visits to the casino with trade and medical services will lead to the creation of a high-value-added service industry, and plans to develop Seven Luck Casino as a hub of Korean tourism.
The search for new tour material is picking up speed, which is especially apparent in the link between the casino and medical services. Grand Korea Leisure gave presentations on its Obusiness casinoO idea combining the casino with business travel and medical tourism in Hawaii, New York and Washington, D.C. from March 30 to April 4, 2009, in cooperation with the Intercare Health Promotion Center and the Seoul Business Agency. With the casino as the bridge, they were able to entice mid-sized companies and attract medical tourists. Especially during the Hawaii presentation, many Japanese showed interest in the medical tour.
In March, the company held a "Business Casino Tour" campaign with a trade agent in Malaysia, and attracted new group clients from Malaysia and Singapore. Grand Korea Leisure various convenient services, including accommodations and transportation. Grand Korea Leisure thinks that these business groups spend twice as much money during their stay than ordinary tourists, and the casino operator will promote cooperative marketing with related agents to bring them back for a second visit.
Kwon Oh-nam, president of Grand Korea Leisure, participated in the Mongol Goyol Fashion Show held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in December 2009, and expressed his thanks to Mongolian Seven Luck Casino customers. Grand Korea Leisure understands that what Mongolian clients want is an increase in business, and to manage these clients in the long term and to develop new ones, the company has decided to help its customers with their work in Korea. Conducting business during the day and enjoying the casino at night, the "Biz and Casino" is win-win marketing, contrasting sharply with the traditional relationship between client and casino.
Kwon remarked, "To improve the brand value of the Seven Luck Casino and develop together with related industries, our marketing strategy also needs to develop. By cooperating with various fields and promoting cooperative marketing strategies, we plan to seek a way to combine travel and trade."
Grand Korea Leisure recently signed a contract with Mirae Asset Securities, making the financial firm the leading manager of GKLOs initial public offering on the Kospi index in October. Grand Korea Leisure has 30 billion won ($23.4 million) in capital (3 million ordinary shares with par value 10,000 won) and plans to do a stock split for a par value of 500 won (61.85 million ordinary shares). The expected scale of the IPO is 180 billion won, and market capital is expected to reach 600 billion won.nw