The TechXNY/PC Expo trade show will face a new threat to its base
of attendees and exhibitors next year, when German show CeBIT
debuts an American event that will displace TechXNY from its usual
June spot at Manhattan's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
TechXNY has been hit hard by the economic downturn: Attendance at
this year's show is estimated at 40,000, according to show
organisers, down from 80,000 just two years ago. Half the show
floor is curtained off and unused.
"They should have put basketball courts back there or something, to
make use of the space," joked one exhibitor.
The show will move to September next year to accommodate the June
arrival of CeBIT America, which will also be held at the Javits
center. The scheduling change was the decision of the Javits
management, but TechXNY is confident it will work out, show
director Christina Condos said.
"We have a lot of vendor loyalty and we have a lot of attendee
loyalty," she said.
CMP Media LLC, which runs the show, is not yet estimating next
year's attendance, but Condos expects it to depend heavily on the
economy. When business picks up, so will trade show attendance,
Condos said. Even in a difficult market, running the show is still
cost-effective for CMP, she said: "We wouldn't be doing it if it
weren't."
But with travel and marketing budgets dwindling, can New York
really support two major shows within three months of each other?
CeBIT America managing director Mark Dineen said the answer is an
emphatic yes.
"We're getting outstanding feedback from all [industry] players.
Basically, nobody is saying no," Dineen said. He declined to name
any committed exhibitors, but said contracts are being sent out
this week and details about exhibitors will be available next
month.
CeBIT's flagship eight-day annual extravaganza in Hanover, Germany,
is the industry's largest trade show, drawing 700,000 visitors this
year. CeBIT America will be a quieter affair, with a projected
attendance of around 40,000, Dineen said.
The show's focus will be on attracting senior managers as attendees
and enterprise vendors as exhibitors. No consumer technology will
be on display.
"We went and did a lot of research, and vendors basically told us
they wanted to be in New York, and they wanted a pure, high-end B2B
show," Dineen said. "We're not looking for mass, we're looking for
quality."
Running so close to TechXNY shouldn't be a problem because of the
shows' different themes, according to Dineen. We're not necessarily
playing in exactly the same field," he said.
Condos also said she's not concerned about CeBIT's arrival. "Our
vendors are aware of it," she said. "A lot of them are saying 'it's
a first-time show, and we don't do first-time shows.'"
One potential complication with next year's September TechXNY is
its proximity to Comdex, the Las Vegas show in November that
traditionally draws several hundred thousand attendees and a slew
of product launches.