Shows & Events

Epidemic Engulfs Emerald Expositions; Reports Massive Q1 Loss of $570.1M

May 11, 2020 by Ted 7 Comments

CFO Admits Company Looking at Possibility of No More Shows in 2020 – and Fewer in 2021

Emerald Holding Inc., formerly Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), has released their fiscal 2020 first quarter results and the organization makes no bones about it – it has been hit, and hit hard, by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced that in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 – the period ending March 31, 2020 – sales declined 27.4% to $99.7 million and the company had the biggest net loss in its history, losing $570.1 million.

See more on the dire situation at Emerald…

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AXPONA is Canceled; But Its Promoter & Exhibitors are Still Battling

May 7, 2020 by Ted 6 Comments

Joel Davis of JD Events (JDE) announced a little more than a week ago that AXPONA, the high-end audio exposition scheduled to take place in Schaumburg, IL in August, is now canceled. Citing the health and safety of attendees, Davis’ letter said “we do not feel 100% confident that we can provide a safe environment for all of our customers and press…” But in a separate communication to exhibitors, Davis informed them the that JDE was in dire financial straits and unable to return their deposits – further angering the still unhappy AXPONA exhibitors.

See more on the AXPONA turmoil…

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Crestron in Triumphant Return to CEDIA Expo

May 6, 2020 by Ted 6 Comments

Crestron Electronics announced today that it is returning to the CEDIA Expo show for the first time since Strata-gee broke the news of their surprising exit from the event four years ago in 2016. This announcement marks a triumphant return for a company that has seen its residential business soar over the last few years, particularly with the launch of their Crestron Home software solution.

See more on Crestron’s return to CEDIA Expo

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UPDATE: Now a Much Larger Group of AXPONA Exhibitors are Calling for Its Cancellation

April 28, 2020 by Ted 5 Comments

Strata-gee reported last week that a group of 20 exhibitors had written an open letter to petition Joel Davis of JD Events – the producer of the AXPONA high-end audio show – calling for the cancellation of that event. The exhibitors making that call included some of the more prominent names in the specialty audio community – and their argument for a cancellation was well-articulated in their petition.

Now, several dozen more exhibitors have joined that original group to also call for its cancellation.

See the expanding list of exhibitors calling for AXPONA to be canceled…

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Emerald Expositions Announces Death of Sally Shankland, Its Most Recent CEO

April 23, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Expositions announced this week that Sally Shankland, it most recent CEO who had been hired in June 2019 to replace resigning CEO David Loechner, has died following her month’s long battle with cancer. The company says Shankland passed away at home peacefully.

See more on this news about Shankland…

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IFA 2020 Show, Scheduled in September, is Now Canceled

April 23, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

All Eyes Turn to the Emerald City – San Juan Capistrano

IFA 2020, a huge consumer electronics show scheduled to take place in Berlin on September 4-9, 2020, is now canceled, the organization behind the event announced this week. It is yet another show joining a long line of mass, in-person marketing events to suffer this fate. The promoter is promising “an innovative new concept” to replace it – which some speculate will be a virtual online conference.

See more on this cancellation of IFA…

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Group of 20 Prominent Exhibitors Call on Producer of AXPONA to Cancel Event

April 22, 2020 by Ted 5 Comments

Cites COVID-19 & Economic Hardship

In an “Open letter to Joel Davis of JD Events,” a group of 20 prominent personalities in the high-end specialty audio industry – who are also contracted exhibitors – call on the producer of AXPONA to cancel the event. AXPONA had already been previously rescheduled by its production company from the originally planned April 17-19 dates…to August 7-9, due to the expanding COVID-19 pandemic.

Now some exhibitors are publicly calling upon the show’s producer to fully cancel the event for 2020 altogether, as COVID-19 – and the economic damage it’s causing – continues to be a major issue.

See why exhibitors want AXPONA canceled…

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AVNation Launches ‘Commercial Learn From Home’ Virtual 3-Day Online Event

April 9, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Previous Residential Event a Big Success

AVNation, a largely podcasting group of integrators in both the residential and commercial AV space, this week held a somewhat abruptly announced, but ultimately successful online learning event they call their LFH – or Learn From Home – virtual residential event. Essentially an online conference with multiple presentations from a variety of industry experts, the event gave COVID-19 isolated colleagues an opportunity to while away the hours of their isolation…and perhaps learn something in the process.

Now, the group announces it will offer a new LFH event targeted at the commercial channel next week.

See more on AVNation’s LFH events…

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IFA & CT Labs Pull the Plug on CE Week

March 26, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

Yet another trade show bites the dust as CE Week joins a long list of shows canceled due to the nationwide Coronavirus epidemic. This cancellation is no surprise, as CE Week was only a little more than 60 days away and planned for the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan – a facility that is in the process of being converted to a large hospital for victims of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic that is hitting New York City and New York State very hard.

See more on the canceled CE Week…

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Emerald Cancels All Trade Shows & Events for First Six Months of 2020

March 22, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Status of CEDIA Expo Remains in Doubt

Emerald Holding Inc. (NYSE: EEX), formerly known as Emerald Expositions Events Inc. – a national exposition company that is home to both the CEDIA Expo and CE Pro magazine – has announced that they are postponing all events for the first two quarters of 2020 due to the rapid spread of the global pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19). Given their position as one of the largest producers of B-to-B trade shows in the U.S., this is a major development with huge impact on the various industries their shows serve.

Learn more on this major Emerald move…

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Shows & Events

Epidemic Engulfs Emerald Expositions; Reports Massive Q1 Loss of $570.1M

CFO Admits Company Looking at Possibility of No More Shows in 2020 – and Fewer in 2021

See more on the dire situation at Emerald…