Breaking up is hard to do
When show owners and sponsors split, the fallout can be tough. That’s the case with the National Hardware Show, which until recently was sponsored by the American Hardware Manufacturers Association and is owned by Reed Exhibitions.
According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, Reed is taking the show, which traditionally has been held in Chicago, to Las Vegas in May. The AHMA’s version of the show is going on now at Chicago’s McCormick Place, but it ain’t pretty. Attendance is estimated to have dropped by almost a third, and exhibitors are down from almost 2,000 last year to 700 at this week’s show. According to the article, Reed’s expecting more than 2,000 exhibitors at its Vegas show next month.
AHMA is singing the usual "it’s the quality, not the quantity, that counts" song, and we’ll have to wait to see if Reed’s high hopes prove out. It’s just a shame that it had to come to this after all these years.
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To receive a weekly blog update, e-mail Sue.
According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, Reed is taking the show, which traditionally has been held in Chicago, to Las Vegas in May. The AHMA’s version of the show is going on now at Chicago’s McCormick Place, but it ain’t pretty. Attendance is estimated to have dropped by almost a third, and exhibitors are down from almost 2,000 last year to 700 at this week’s show. According to the article, Reed’s expecting more than 2,000 exhibitors at its Vegas show next month.
AHMA is singing the usual "it’s the quality, not the quantity, that counts" song, and we’ll have to wait to see if Reed’s high hopes prove out. It’s just a shame that it had to come to this after all these years.
Comments?
To receive a weekly blog update, e-mail Sue.
