AHMA Gives Up Competing for Hardware Event

Reed Exhibitions' Natl. Hardware Show is now industry's main expo

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 10/11/2004

Pointing to industry changes that negatively impacted the 2004 launch of its AHMA Hardware Show, the American Hardware Manufacturers Assn. has called off the show for 2005. With no apparent plans to produce a tradeshow in 2006 or beyond, the AHMA's move amounts to a surrender in its 20-month battle with Reed Exhibitions for claim to the hardware industry's main event.

"It's a tough decision because the hardware show has been such an important event to our members and our industry and our association for such a long time," said Timothy Farrell, AHMA president and CEO, in an Oct. 1 statement. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's the right decision."

The show has been an important source of revenue for the association. Although AHMA closely guards its financial reports, the 2004 show would have generated at least $3 million, based on the square footage and space rates last quoted by the AHMA. Farrell would not say how the association plans to make up for the lost revenue.

The AHMA will now turn its attention to the production of "alternative, optimally valuable and relevant events for its members and its industry in response to recent developments and evolutionary changes of the home improvement industry." Farrell did not respond to Tradeshow Week's inquiries about the specific nature of these events.

The AHMA currently lists on its Web site two events that it produces in-house: an executive conference next slated for Jan. 23–25 at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado, Calif.; and the Hardlines Technology Forum, set for May 1–4 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. In addition, the association organizes a few pavilions at overseas hardware industry trade fairs.

Neither ConvExx nor Infinity Expo Group, which co-managed the 2004 show for AHMA, is under contract with the association for any future projects. Infinity President Mark LoGiurato said, "Our deal with them ended May 31, and we're working on a lot of other events. It was not in our plans to do an '05 show for them."

The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau said it is not holding exhibit space for the AHMA on any events. Bureau CEO Chris Bowers stated that he was "disappointed that a longtime, exceptional partner has had to make a difficult business decision, but AHMA's withdrawal will not pose a significant negative effect on Chicago's hospitality community."

The CCTB estimated that delegates spent $18.6 million in the city in 2004. At the show's peak in 1999, the economic impact on Chicago was estimated to be around $85.2 million.

In the meantime, Bowers pointed out, Chicago has landed two major shows to fill the springtime gap left by the hardware industry: BIO 2006 and the Newspaper Assn. of America's NEXPO 2006.

Bowers described the issues surrounding the two hardware shows as "complicated," adding, "We've always maintained that these issues were not about Chicago, but about the hardware industry, the association and the owner of the Natl. Hardware Show."

The AHMA in February 2003 withdrew its 28-year sponsorship of Reed's Natl. Hardware Show and unveiled plans to launch its own show April 18–20, 2004, at Chicago's McCormick Place. Reed, meanwhile, decided to move its show from Chicago to the Las Vegas Convention Center, starting May 10–12, 2004.

The inaugural AHMA Hardware Show drew only 700 exhibitors and between 15,000 and 20,000 attendees, according to the association's preliminary estimates. Despite its success in landing major tool manufacturer the Stanley Works — which had withdrawn from the Natl. Hardware Show years earlier — the association could not overcome the fierce competition.

Reed pulled out all the stops to make its show the winner, enlisting the support of other associations and publications, partnering with overseas shows and launching a massive marketing campaign. The payoff: The Natl. Hardware Show in Las Vegas drew 2,303 exhibitors and 22,691 attendees, according to an audit by Exhibit Surveys.

Dennis MacDonald, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions, said the company has received calls from customers aware of the AHMA cancellation. "We will welcome any manufacturer who wants to exhibit at the 2005 Natl. Hardware Show," he said, adding that Reed has commitments from 1,800 exhibitors to fill 481,250 sq. ft. of space at the 2005 show, scheduled May 17–19 at the LVCC and the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

The February 2003 split between Reed and the AHMA resulted from philosophical differences about the best way to revive the show and began a year of vigorous competition for the industry's buyers and sellers. The AHMA in the summer of last year filed a lawsuit claiming Reed had engaged in unfair business practices. Neither side would discuss the suit, which had not been settled at press time, other than MacDonald saying, "We still believe this lawsuit is without merit."

While members of the hardware industry tracked the rivalry with interest, many noted that they themselves were the unfortunate losers, forced to invest in two shows or take sides despite conflicting loyalties. "Not one person thinks it is good," said Scott Bannell, the Stanley Works' director of corporate advertising and brand management, on the floor of the AHMA show this year. "We hope to evolve back to one show."

Although he's an AHMA member, Thomas Reed, senior vice president of U.S. sales and marketing for Rust-Oleum, said he doesn't care whose show it is, since "it's all about what customers will attend and what they want." Rust-Oleum didn't want to exhibit in two shows last year, so it went with the association — a bad choice, according to Reed, since the Natl. Hardware Show was "far superior."