Exhibition Sales26 Mar 2021 13:20
I want to clarify what I know about the sales practice in the Exhibitions industry in general, as the situation is much better than most industry outsiders probably expect.
All the major Exhibition Organisers Informa, Clarion, Hyve, Reed, German Messes, Comexposium, FierraMilano etc. sell most of any given show from a year before. So when Covid - 19 hit, the all the shows postponed were already sold out, %90 revenue collected with only a fraction of the direct cost (mostly opex) spent. Most of the industry (Probably Hyve too) have decided on a solution:
1. postpone your booking, along with the show. No refund.
2. Ask for a refund, with a 25% penalty.
Most would choose option 1, to retain their desired location within the floor plan.
Given a small chunk of the shows having taken place even during pandemic, the bookings for the next edition should have been near complete already. The postponed shows are still sold out, but haven't taken place yet. But this doesn't stop exhibition companies from selling the next edition (2023 shows). Worst comes to worst, exhibition company doubles the overhead costs, financing costs etc. but the major costs of marketing and opex still haven't incurred, so the shows being %20 -%45 Gross margin, eat from their profit a bit, but still Profit.
If I had to guess, I'd say most Exhibition Companies have completed sales on their shows for Q3- Q4 2022, and have already begun selling 2023 shows.
This whole situation with Covid-19 looks horrible on the Annual Balance Sheet, but if we could have a look at any given Shows Profit & Loss, I'd bet the situation wouldn't look all that gloomy at all.
I believe we will see a reflection of what I have explained on April Trading Update. 300 EoY is not a dream.
Don't take investment advice from strangers on the internet - DYOR
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