Cover feature
said Larkin. “Maybe they booked 20
booths for a pavilion in the past, and
they’re maybe booking 16 this year.”
plummeting of the
tradeshow industry during
the last recession
2.5%
an original expectation of
tradeshows gain this year
1.5%
current forecast growth
of US tradeshows over the
next 12 months
“The tradeshow industry is
especially susceptible to economic
downturns, having plummeted
almost 10% one year during the
last recession, and show producers
are hoping to stave off a repeat,” he
stated. The lessons of the recession of
a decade ago still remain in the mind
clearly, as well as fears of what a
deteriorating economy can mean for
the tradeshow sector.
“Recession has a huge impact
on the industry,” said Allen Shaw,
an economist with the Center for
Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR).
“Companies see exhibition costs
as easier to cut than some other
expenses.”
A Boston seafood tradeshow was
cited as an example of pull back by
Chinese vendors due to protectionism
concerns. The US seafood industry
works on small margins, so vendors
are feeling the current 10% tariff on
imported Chinese seafood, said Mary
Larkin, whose company, Diversified
Communications, produces Seafood
Expo North America in Boston,
among other shows.
Chinese vendors “book a little bit
less space than they have in the past,”
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Reasons to be cheerful
The CEIR index recently forecast US
tradeshows should grow by 1.5%
over the next 12 months, (down
slightly from around 1.65% last year).
Although a positive figure, it is down
from an expectation of a 2.5% gain.
The picture does not seem uniform
across countries or sectors, which
further complicates things.
Organisers reported exhibitor
sales for the IBS Builders Show in Las
Vegas as strong, even if the National
Association of Home Builders says
the US housing market has softened
in recent months. Sectors such as
construction and heavy machinery,
as well as the promotional products
industry in the US are clearly
examples of sectors doing well.
Bob McLean of the Promotional
Products Association International
has said he expects his sector to grow
4% in 2019, on top of 5% growth in
2018, which may be good for industry
confidence Stateside at least.
The Consumer Technology
Association also reported good
attendance and exhibitor numbers at
its giant CES electronics show in Las
Vegas in January.
And fresh findings from an AUMA
survey show German companies
prefer trade fairs to digital in terms of
effective marketing.
Big deals
So, what of the big deals in the
organiser world? CloserStill Media’s
“Recession has a huge impact on the
exhibition industry. Companies see
exhibition costs as easier to cut than
some other expenses”
sale to Providence for £340m
(US$431m) on 19 December 2018 and
Mack Brooks’ acquisition by Reed
Exhibitions for an estimated £200m
(US$261m) are big portions of food for
thought and would seem to illustrate
the sector is increasingly of interest
to private equity. Reed Exhibitions
reportedly bid against a PE company
to acquire Mack Brooks.
UK, St Albans-based Mack
Brooks Exhibitions features more
than 30 B2B events in 14 countries
and its flagship brands include
EuroBLECH (sheet metal working
technology); inter airport (airport
infrastructure and technology);
Fastener Fair (fastener and fixing
technology); Chemspec (fine and
speciality chemicals); RAILTEX (rail
infrastructure and technology);
ICE Europe (paper, film and foil
converting); CCE (manufacturing
and converting corrugated and
cartonboard); PSE Europe (plastics)
and InPrint (print technology for
industrial manufacturing).
A broad programme of geo-cloning
has successfully positioned many of
these brands outside Germany and
the UK to include a presence today
in France, Italy, the United States,
Mexico, China, Singapore, Thailand,
India and Turkey.
Stephen Brooks, Chairman of
Mack Brooks, said: “I am extremely
positive about the future of Mack
Brooks as part of Reed Exhibitions.
Our events and customers will benefit
tremendously from Reed Exhibitions’
global reach, experience in delivering
customer value and investment in
technology.”
Chet Burchett, CEO of Reed
Exhibitions, said the combination of
the two businesses would, “deliver
value for all stakeholders, including
customers and staff”.
M&A expert, Mayfield Merger
Strategies’ Steve Monnington told
EW he believed the Mack Brooks
transaction was similar to the All
World deal at the end of 2016 in that it
is the sale of one of the few remaining
long-term family owned businesses.
Issue 1 2019
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