Weekly Newsletter
Osaka, 29th July: The Japan Management Association opened the 12th edition of the Kansai Hotel & Restaurant Show as well as five other co-located exhibitions at INTEX Osaka on 29th July. These events are the first large-scale B2B trade fairs since Japan lifted its national state of emergency.
Read MoreShanghai, 28th July: The U.S.-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has decided to cancel CES Asia 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This also marks the end of the event - as it will not be revived after the pandemic is over.
In addition, the CTA cancelled the physical version of CES 2021, which was scheduled to be held Las Vegas in January. Instead, CTA will organise an all-digital version of CES 2021.
Asia, 14th July: BAU, Messe München has announced that it has acquired Glasstech Asia / Fenestration Asia which covers the ASEAN region. Separately, the German organiser has also signed a new cooperation agreement that adds the China Roofing & Waterproofing Expo to BAU China. The China Roofing & Waterproofing Expo is organised by the China National Building Waterproof Association.
Read MoreMonica Lee-Müller, managing director of the HKCEC venue in Hong Kong, has been elected as president of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, for the 2021/22 term.
Following the discontinuation of CES Asia (see above article), Reed Exhibitions Australia has decided to cancel its fitness exhibitions. This is just the beginning of a long, difficult process for the industry. As the pandemic rolls on, exhibition organisers around the world will review their portfolios and cut shows unlikely to recover or expected to recover too slowly.
A good summary of the SCMP’s decision to revert to a subscription model four years after Alibaba’s acquisition of the Hong Kong-based newspaper.
First came the U.S.-China TikTok political dust-up. Now it seems Alibaba is getting dragged into India-China trade politics. The international political landscape is getting increasingly difficult and complex for tech players.
Similar to the business events industry, the gaming industry is facing difficult months ahead. MGM announces that furloughed staff who have not been recalled by 31st August will be laid off permanently. And Las Vegas Sands offers free rent to retail tenants in Macau and Singapore. LVS cannot have malls with no shops when punters eventually return.
Figure 1: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement over past 12 months)
Figure 2: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement since January 2020)
Las Vegas Sands Corporation saw its second quarter revenues fall 97% from US$3.33 billion in 2019 to a mere US$98 million in Q2 2019. Its net loss was US$985 million compared with Q2 2019 when its net profit was US$1.11 billion. It seems likely that in 2020, most global exhibition organisers will record a drop in revenues closer to that of LVS than the rather optimistic 75% drop that appeared in the results of UFI’s latest Global Exhibition Barometer survey.
Eddie Choi thinks event organisers will abandon virtual events as soon as the pandemic is over.
Ant Group, which operates Alipay, is preparing for an IPO which will value the business at US$200 billion – roughly the same as Bank of America. Ant has an incredible 900 million active users in China. Alibaba owns one third of Ant.
In happier news, Informa Markets had a good result at its China Beauty Expo in Shanghai, as did Reed Exhibitions with its gift trade show in Shenzhen – and auto exhibitions are pressing ahead across the country.
Shenzhen, 20th July: Messe Frankfurt, an international event organiser, has held its first large-scale exhibitions in China following months of postponed and cancelled events due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and the Yarn Expo were co-located running from 15th to 17th July at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics featured 886 exhibitors, while the Yarn Expo showcased 125 exhibitors.
New York, 14th July: Recently, The New York Times announced it would relocate its Hong Kong-based digital news operation to Seoul. The shift is as a result of the recently enacted National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong, which was in part Beijing’s reaction to the political and social unrest that has affected Hong Kong since June 2019.
According to The New York Times, the national security law passed by China in June has unsettled news organisations and created uncertainty about the city’s prospects as a hub for journalism in Asia. The New York Times will move its digital team to Seoul over the next year, reducing staff levels in Hong Kong by about one-third. The New York Times plans to keep its reporting staff and infrastructure in place in Hong Kong for the time being.
London, 23rd July: Yesterday, RELX plc and DMGT plc released their latest financial results. For RELX it covers the previous six months and for DMGT the previous nine months ended 30th June 2020.
RELX recorded group revenues of £3.5 billion (US$4.3 billion) in the first half of 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. Its adjusted operating profit dropped 24% down to £939 million (US$1.2 billion).
DMGT’s group revenues were £934 million (US$1.1 billion) for the nine months ended 30th June. That represents an underlying decrease of 7%. The group adjusted operating profit was £63 million (US$77 million) in the nine-month period, compared with a profit of £112 million (US$138 million) last year.
Paris, 20th July: Earlier this week, UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released an updated COVID-19 damage assessment for the global exhibitions and trade show industry, covering the full year of 2020.
According to its recently released UFI Global Exhibition Barometer, industry revenues in the first half of 2020 dropped by two thirds compared to the same period last year. UFI also provided an expectation of revenues for the full year of 2020. According to survey organisers, they expect to generate revenues far below 2019 levels. Organisers in Europe and North America expect revenues to be 44% of 2019, while the figure in Asia was 39% and Central and South America were both lower at 33%. The Middle East & Africa was 31%. BSG notes that even these forecasts now seem optimistic given that for an increasing number of geographic markets, the rest of 2020 could be a complete write-off.
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Read MoreShanghai, 15th July: Organised by Messe München, ISPO Shanghai 2020 was the first physical meeting of the sports and outdoor industry since the COVID-19 pandemic, welcoming nearly 18,000 visitors.
Read MorePhilippines, 9th July: Pico Far East’s subsidiary Global-Link MP Events International previously announced the launch of its latest offering – VX Events – a platform that will combine the experience of physical trade events and latest technology.
Read MoreHong Kong, 13th July: After months of very few new cases, Hong Kong has experienced a recent increase in “community transmitted” COVID-19 cases. In the past week, Hong Kong has recorded daily case numbers of between 10 and 40. As a result of this, the Hong Kong government has ordered a number of businesses to temporarily close (bars, restaurants, gyms, etc.) and implemented restrictions on public gatherings. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) was then forced reschedule several of its events: the Hong Kong Book Fair, the Sports and Leisure Expo, the Education and Careers Expo and Entrepreneur Day.
Read MoreSwitzerland, 10th July: Art Basel’s parent company, MCH Group, has announced plans to sell a 30% stake to Lupa Systems, a private company controlled by James Murdoch. The deal is expected to be approved by MCH’s shareholders on 3rd August. Some media reports suggest that the stake could be as high as 44% depending on the final agreed terms. Lupa Systems, established last year, “aims to build an investment portfolio of entertainment and media companies.”
Read MoreThe report provides insight into 25 exhibition markets globally. Surveyed organisers expected 2020 revenues to drop by 60% compared with 2019. That seems optimistic.
There are still plenty of restrictions and hurdles to travel, but at least it is a step in the right direction.
UFI’s Kai Hattendorf was part of a very good panel session on the future of exhibitions. It is worth watching (or reading).
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Read MoreInforma Markets' September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair has been rescheduled to November and it will be held at one venue (AWE) instead of the usual two venues. For the new November dates to work, travel restrictions will need to have been significantly eased as this event typically attracts visitors and exhibitors from 100+ countries. And the 2020 June Jewellery & Gem Asia Hong Kong (a smaller event) has been cancelled. Next edition will be June 2021 after surveyed exhibitors preferred that option.
After consulting their exhibitors and visitors, Koelnmesse opts to cancel its own events until the end of October. There is an important point here. The exhibition industry may be keen to organise events and local government may allow it, but until the exhibitors and visitors feel confident, events are not going to restart in any meaningful way.
RAI is expecting to lose €20 million this year and as a result, the company will lay off 125 employees. Total staff employed is currently 483. Unfortunately, this is likely the first of many announcements like this from around the world.
Quanzhou, Fujian, 7th July: A new convention and exhibition venue, Jinjiang International Convention and Exhibition Center (JJCEC), opened in Quanzhou in Fujian province last month.
JJCEC, managed and operated by Pico Far East Holdings, is a large-scale, modern multi-purpose complex, offering full-fledged exhibition and convention facilities in Quanzhou. Featuring a site area of 120,000 m2, the venue provides 40,000 m2 of exhibition space across four exhibition halls.
China, 8th July: Singapore-based SingEx Exhibitions will organise its second large-scale physical event this year in Shanghai later this month, following the first event in Guangzhou in June.
The Shanghai International Epidemic-Prevention Material and Equipment Fair, organised by Worldex-SingEx Exhibitions, will run from 15th to 16th July. The event will feature products and services useful in battling the COVID-19 outbreak. As with the Guangzhou event, the Shanghai exhibition will have in place strict hygiene and safety measures.
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