“When the world stopped, you kept walking.” The slogan will receive tens of thousands of construction industry companies, merchants and distributors who have paid up to $600 (BRL 3,400) each to participate in this month’s World of Concrete fair in Las Vegas — unless the omicron variant of the coronavirus forces a cancellation at the last minute.
How many corporate exhibitions can be maintained this year is a renewed question. Just when executives had started preparing their conferences again, after months of restrictions, the fast-spreading strain of Covid-19 prompted yet another round of delays.
At ExCel, an East London location, the Bett education technology fair, the ICE gaming industry event and the 100% Optical eyewear exhibition, which would have huge participation in their sectors, were postponed at the beginning of the year.
Some exhibitors, meanwhile, have withdrawn from fairs that continue to take place. Amazon, Meta and Twitter are among several tech groups that have dropped out of face-to-face participation at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show), though organizers are determined to move forward with the event, which is due to kick off this week, also in Las Vegas.
After surviving past restrictions brought on by the coronavirus, adamant executives behind some of the industry’s biggest fairs are trying to position their companies to take advantage when the pandemic finally rolls back.
“Effectively, we have been scheduling, rescheduling, negotiating, renegotiating every three months for almost two years,” said Stephen Carter, chief executive of Informa, the world’s largest promoter of sector fairs.
“It’s been very hard on our teams, and very hard on our relationship with rental partners and suppliers.”
Even so, he added, “clients remained very determined to participate — when they can afford it.”
Carter is so confident in his prospects that he identified the events as one of Informa’s priority areas for expansion, along with academic publications.
This month, media company FTSE 100 unveiled plans to offer a data and publishing portfolio of advisory assets valued at at least £1.7 billion (£13 billion), and to re-invest a portion of the funds into its trading business. events.
Investors remain cautious. Informa’s shares have fallen at least 40% since the beginning of 2020, while GL Events of Paris has fallen 25% in the same period and New York-listed Emerald Holding 62%.
However, before the emergence of omicron there were encouraging signs to industry that Zoom’s weary delegates were eager to return.
Data from the Exhibition Industry Research Center (Ceir) show that the rate of cancellation of exhibitions from companies to companies in the United States improved from 98% in the second half of 2020 to 19% in the third quarter of 2021.
Despite a slow start to the year and lingering concerns about the coronavirus, Ceir estimates that 15.3 million people participated in these events in the US in 2021 — more than double the previous year, albeit less than half of the pre- pandemics.
“The comeback shows that the model is strong,” said Paul Thandi, chief executive of the NEC group, which owns the UK’s National Exhibition Center in Birmingham. However, since the spread of omicron “exhibitors have become more risk-averse,” he added.
“They fear spending thousands on booths, staff and other expenses,” he explained.
Events that were supposed to take place at NEC in the new year that have been rescheduled include Lamma, an agricultural machinery fair.
Despite widespread cancellations, few major event organizers have so far suffered serious financial difficulties, in part because their parent companies have interests in other sectors that have not been so hard hit by the pandemic.
One exception is Paris-based Comexposium, which has spent much of last year in a “safeguard procedure,” though it pulled out of it in October after shareholders pumped €110 million (£713 million) into the deal.
Some other organizers turned to shareholders for cash at the start of the pandemic, helping them weather the storm. Informa raised £1 billion (£7.68 billion) in an issue last year, equivalent to about 20% of its equity capital.
License schemes and other forms of government support were lifelines. In cases where the authorities imposed restrictions that prevented events from taking place, insurance was also crucial, despite a sometimes limited scope of coverage.
Some £65m (£500m) in insurance payments helped Hyve, another London-based event organizer, return to profit in the year to the end of September.
The pressure on organizers’ cash flows was also less intense than it could have been, as exhibitors generally pay in advance, said Dan Assor, an event industry consultant.
He added that in some ways the hardest hit were subcontractors — usually smaller companies that provide equipment such as lighting and service desks, as well as logistical support.
“The supply chain has been decimated,” Assor said. “Many freelancers have disappeared.”
As in other industries troubled by the coronavirus, executives hope that some changes will be lasting.
Mark Shashoua, chief executive of Hyve, said he expects a shakeout at smaller fairs. Even before the pandemic, he said, there was a “gravitational pull” for the biggest event in any industry — a trend that the pandemic has only accelerated.
“If the event and the industry were on the rise before Covid, they are recovering very quickly,” he said. “Whether it was a second- or third-tier fair, it’s not recovering.”
Sarah Simon, an analyst at Berenberg, predicts the fragmented sector will consolidate. “In the short term, in certain markets, there will be continued disruption, which I think will drive out more weak companies,” she said. “There are a lot of mid-range assets out there that could be interesting.”
Analysts said potential sellers could include the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which, in addition to owning the UK’s largest circulation newspaper, among other titles, also has an events business.
Its portfolio includes Adipec, an energy industry exhibition hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. DMGT was recently privatized by Lord Rothermere, who is said to be focused on the company’s publishing assets.
Companies like Informa are also trying to better exploit the data generated by these events. They have long encouraged delegates to use specialized apps, but recent health and safety requirements have made online registration mandatory in certain cases. Organizers are trying to sell attendees more related digital services like delegate meetings and post-event analysis.
Unlike conferences, however, or at least the onstage discussions that support them, industry fairs cannot be easily recreated online. It’s hard to feel fabrics, as at the Pure London fashion fair, or remotely probe the prospects of emerging mobile technology, as at MWC Barcelona.
“It’s impossible to replicate face-to-face,” Assor said, adding that fairs have facilitated commerce since the Great Exhibition of London in 1851.
Chris Skeith, chief executive of the UK Event Organizers Association, said the attraction remains constant. “The hint is in the name,” he said. “Fairs generate commerce.”
“You put your finger on the pulse of everything that’s happening in your industry—all competitors, customers, suppliers are all in one place at the same time. It’s an incredibly effective way to do business.”
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
