The Covid-19 outbreak demonstrated that digital solutions “on their own” could not replace trade shows canceled due to the pandemic, noted Luca Palermo, the chief executive of Fiera Milano, which manages the Rho exhibition hall as well as exhibition pavilions in Milan and the Allianz MiCo convention center. The Italian company also organizes its own trade shows and hosts third-party events such as the footwear exhibition Micam and the eyewear show Mido.
“Before the pandemic, the enemy (for physical trade shows) was digital. But, we saw that digital solutions on their own don’t work,” Palermo says in an interview with Shoe Intelligence.
Palermo also stressed that the cancelation of trade shows and congresses highlighted the importance of those events for local economies. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the Italian trade show industry is estimated to have generated some €22 billion in revenues for local communities, with Fiera Milano contributing on its own about €8.1 billion, according to data provided by Fiera Milano.
During the pandemic, which broke out in March 2020 in Italy, the Italian trade show industry lost about 70-75 percent of its revenues and only restarted in the second half of 2021, Fiera Milano added.
Data released by UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, indicated that in 2021 the industry achieved, on average, only 41 percent of the revenues booked worldwide in 2019. The percentage reached 47 percent in Europe.
As part of its business plan CONN.E.C.T. 2025, which was presented in 2021 and runs until 2025, Fiera Milano intends to achieve a “complementary and synergistic offer” of traditional and digital services to provide a “phygital” experience to exhibitors and visitors attending its events. The company also plans to develop a “permanent information hub” that would support the industries it covers.
“When we enter an airport or a train station, we become a piece of data. The same occurs with a trade show. We want to offer data management and create a community,” explains Palermo.
The other three pillars of Fiera Milano’s business plan are to strengthen the portfolio of proprietary and third-party exhibitions, consolidate its position in the congress sector and boost the attractiveness and safety of its exhibition and convention sites.
As part of its effort to boost its portfolio, Fiera Milano has signed a non-binding agreement with Fiere di Parma to create “a European exhibition platform in the agri-food sector.”
Fiera Milano also signed in June a nondisclosure agreement with Firenze Fiera to initiate talks regarding a potential “strategic partnership” between the two companies in the exhibition and congress sectors. Firenze Fiera hosts various events, including the fashion events of Pitti Immagine.
Fiera Milano is also focusing on developing new trade shows covering mobility, life sciences and the circular economy. In October 2022, the company held the first edition of Next Mobility Exhibition and plans to hold the next edition in 2024.
Palermo highlighted that Fiera Milano is proactively seeking to promote itself internationally, to attract visitors, exhibitors and itinerant trade shows, as well as to organize new events.
In 2021, the company entered a partnership with the British exhibition group Informa Markets, under which the parties will promote each other’s events in the food and hospitality sectors.
Last year, Fiera Milano also partnered with Dubai-based emg events to launch the Asian design show FIND, which was held in September in Singapore. “We want to determine whether Singapore can become a hub” for the group, Palermo comments.
“We are looking for places where to organize exhibitions. We have positions of excellence in food, hospitality and construction,” adds Palermo, referring to Fiera Milano’s know-how in organizing exhibitions in the food and hospitality sector, with Tuttofood and Host, and in the building industry, with Made Expo and Smart Building Expo.
Fiera Milano is already present in Brazil through its subsidiary Fiera Milano Brasil, which manages nine events, and in South Africa with Fiera Milano Exhibitions Africa, which organizes the contemporary art show ICTAF.
Through partnerships with the German exhibition firm Deutsche Messe, the company is present in China, where two joint ventures hold over 20 exhibitions, and in India, where the joint venture Hannover Milano Fairs India scouts for exhibitors and buyers.
To boost the attractiveness of Milan as a destination for international visitors, Fiera Milano also joined forces with YesMilano Convention Bureau. The purpose of the alliance is to lift, by 2023, Milan among the top 10 destinations in the ranking of the International Congress and Convention Association. In 2019, Milan ranked 32nd. “Our ambition is to grow in all sectors,” points out Palermo.
In the first nine months of 2022, Fiera Milano’s revenues totaled €161.7 million, up by €121.8 million from a year earlier when the business was hit by Covid-19 restrictions. Ebitda reached €49.9 million, up by €56.9 million year-over-year, and net profit € 0.9 million, an improvement of €25.1 million.
In the wake of its performance in the nine-month period, the company lifted its full-year guidance and now expects Ebitda to come in at €50 to €55 million rather than the €40 to €50 million previously forecast.
“In 2023, there is huge uncertainty because of the energy situation. We have to see how SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) react to the energy shock. For the time being, our bookings are performing very well,” Palermo notes.
Fiera Milano is working on measures to mitigate the impact of higher energy prices on its own business. They include increasing the number of solar panels at the Rho exhibition hall, which already cover about 20 percent of the company’s energy needs.
The Rho exhibition hall and the MiCo convention facility, situated in the center of Milan, are both owned by Fondazione Fiera Milano, which owns 63.8 percent of Fiera Milano’s ordinary capital. Fiera Milano is also due to manage Turin’s new congress center, which is scheduled to be completed in 2024-2025.
In its business plan, Fiera Milano earmarked €115 to €125 million, of which €90 to €100 million will be footed by the foundation, to upgrade the exhibition and congress venues. Fiera Milano plans to invest directly about €25 million mainly for its digital transformation.
This article first appeared in our sister publication Shoe Intelligence.
