Regent Exhibitions, the family-owned operator of the global meetings industry IMEX events in Frankfurt and Las Vegas, will this year achieve its best profit for years on revenue matching its 2023 peak and 10% ahead of 2019. CEO Carina Bauer told us this week how things are changing for her events and the industry itself.
Are trade shows really changing?
Yes. Traditionally, events have been seen as the logistics side rather than the more strategic part of a marketing channel. I think that’s evolving because, increasingly ,we’re having a more strategic discussion around the purpose of events. That is feeding optimism in the events industry, in spite of volatile times in geopolitics and economics.
But, ultimately, there have been a lot of drivers of events. The issue around online trust is one and also around remote working which leads more people to events. More people just being online and digital are wanting to connect in person. That’s one of the effects of the pandemic. There are many reasons why there have been a lot more events happening and a lot of solidity in them, even when budgets are tight. Back in the financial crisis of 2008-9, events budgets were slashed by corporates. but we haven’t seen the same thing happen yet. I think that’s a really good sign. The other big trend is a generational shift. There are a lot of new people in events, with many people laid-off or retiring early during the pandemic.There are now a lot of new people coming into the events industry, more GenZs getting responsibility early because the previous GenX was a very small population, so younger people are getting more responsibility to fill the gaps. That is a big change.
Is that generational shift changing events themselves?
Yes. When people go to an event, they now expect to be there as themselves and, therefore, they want a rounded experience and they want choice. They want to connect with people and you do this not just by just having a meal or a business meeting but also having fun with people. We see the need for that increasingly at our events where we now have areas that are quiet, for example, where people can get away from a busy show, and wellness, fitness and fun activities. We have no-alcohol options. You increasingly need all those layers of individualisation and personalisation and we have somebody who spends a significant porportion of their time looking at the customer journey, not just online but throughout the show as well and we develop distinct design briefs for each key area of the show. We’re putting a massive effort into the whole experience of the show, the music you hear, the smells (we have scent machines in certain areas), helping our exhibitors activate their space and using data to give them feedback on how well it worked.A lot of our exhibitors and sponsors at IMEX America, but also in Frankfurt, want to do fun things. Everything from a mirror box where people are doing fun photos to a pickleball court. People really cottoned on to the fact that that is a good way to engage people. It doesn’t always have to be super-expensive either. It can be a better way to showcase a brand than just a sign.
What about a ‘365-day relationship’ with customers?
We get as close as possible to a year-round relationship which we’re able to do partly because we’ve just got two global shows in the same industry. Our team are working with the same clients across the whole year, and so they’ve got that connection with them, a constant dialogue, and they’re also seeing them at other industry events. That works very well for us. But I do think that’s critical because if you just sell and leave it, you can’t assume that your customer knows enough about how to make the most of your product and maximise the return on their investment in your event.
How similar are your two shows?
The US show is now bigger, perhaps 65% of the company and also slightly higher profit margins. The exhibitors are the same industry and they’re both global shows. But, whereas all the European countries that are in Frankfurt are also exhibiting in America, if you take Germany as an example: it will have a pavilion in Frankfurt with 200 companies. But the German pavilion in America will have, perhaps, 20 German companies so the scale of the global presence is different, even though all the destinations are there. Similarly, the scale of the US presence in Frankfurt, is decent, but it’s much smaller because they are the US destinations that are really focused on attracting global buyers. In America, we’ve got every first, second, and third -tier city, and they account for about 50% of our whole show.
Is there any prospect of a third IMEX show, say in Asia?
Not at the moment. It’s simply not on our radar because, although it seems it seems like the obvious next step for us, Asia is a much more disparate and less mature market – because we always look at the buyers first. For us to put on a global show in Asia (rather than a regional show), we have to be able to find significant numbers of Asian buyers who are bringing business out of Asia. Now, there are buyers there, of course, which are doing that, and we’re bringing a few hundred of them to each of our shows. But having 2,000 – which is roughly what we would need even for a small show in Asia – we feel is still a stretch. At the moment, we’re not looking at that. We’re just focusing on bringing those international buyers to Frankfurt and to Las Vegas. We’re not massively diversified, of course, but there’s a great value in doing well what we do and keep trying to do it better.
| SnapShot IMEX Exhibitions | |||||
| £mn | 2025* | 2024* | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 |
| Rev | 38 | 35 | 38 | 32 | 34 |
| Ebitda | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Margin | 29% | 29% | 20% | 24% | 29% |
| Net assets | 31 | 28 | 23 | ||
| People | 80 | 80 | 79 | 69 | 64 |
Have you booked yet for Monetising B2B?
The changing shape of events will be a major session at the Flashes & Flames ‘Monetising B2B’ conference in Central London on 20 May. A panel comprising Lisa Hannant (CEO, Clarion Events), Philip Soar (Chair, CloserStill Media), Greg Hitchen (CEO, Terrapinn) and Paul Miller (CEO, Questex) will discuss how trade shows and other events are changing their own companies and the industry. Additionally, Hugh Jones (CEO, RX) and Philip Thomas (Chair, Informa Festivals) will participate in fireside chats about the prospects for B2B events and information. The one-day conference includes sessions with 23 events and information industry leaders. All delegates will receive an exclusive eBook of case studies of the companies featured, to enhance engagement, learning and networking. It’s the B2B industry event of the year.
You are advised to book soon to avoid disappointment – because the capacity is just 200. Click here
