EComXpo Marks First Sale of a Virtual Show

Amit Das, Worldwide Business Research USA's managing director, said his company's purchase of eComXpo, a virtual tradeshow for e-commerce marketers, was a first for more than just one reason.

Yes, it does appear to be the first acquisition of a virtual tradeshow. And, according to Das, the purchase will allow WBR to spin a virtual show off from one of its physical ones for the fist time, as well as be the first company to collocate two virtual shows. The virtual version of eTail, a show for multichannel retailers scheduled Aug. 4-7 at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C., will take place a month earlier, July 9-10, in conjunction with the next edition of eComXpo.

“EComXpo provides a perfect complement to our shows,” Das said. “It gives us a ready-made event to get into the virtual space.”

John Grosshandler, eComXpo founder and event director, said he and his team would continue to work on eComXpo with WBR as strategic consultants, as well as assist WBR in launching more virtual events aligned with its existing portfolio of 115-plus physical shows throughout the world.

“They're providing human capital and intellectual capital to help us launch our virtual conferences and events,” Das added.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Grosshandler and Das both described the combination of a virtual tradeshow and a physical event as invaluable. “We see virtual shows really complementing and augmenting physical shows,” Das said.

Grosshandler said a virtual show could whet people's appetites for the real thing. “With the eTail virtual show happening a month before the physical one, people could sign up for the (online) event and use it for free and then go to the physical,” he added.

Beyond fitting into WBR's strategy of launching more events in the future, Das added, the purchase of eComXpo fits the company's three-pronged mission: to grow the business 25 percent annually through existing events and new ones; look for out-of-the-box partnerships and acquisitions; and buy assets that are consistent with its expertise.

Grosshandler, who launched eComXpo in 2005, said virtual tradeshows weren't necessarily profitable when he first got into the marketplace, but within a short time people recognized their value. “The reality is a lot of people have tried virtual events, and some have failed,” he added.

According to Grosshandler, eComXpo, which had 150 exhibitors and more than 8,000 attendees online for its October event, is the largest virtual tradeshow on the Web.

“We had acquirers' interest since we started,” he added. “It caught people's attention.”

Instead of selling it right away, Grosshandler said, “we wanted to build value and grow the show until we determined it was time to hand over the baby.” He also admitted that figuring out what the price tag should be for something so new was daunting.

When Grosshandler was eventually ready to let go, he said the suitors were still out there. It was clear, though, that WBR was the right one to stick with “for a variety of reasons.”

Das added, “We had our first meeting in January, so it all happened very quickly.”

Because eTail – which drew more than 100 exhibitors and sponsors and 1,297 attendees to its Feb. 11-14 event in Palm Desert, Calif. – was in a related field, Das said, it made sense to collocate it with eComXpo.

“It gives an opportunity for people all over the world who haven't been able to experience an eTail event to (do so),” he added. “It also provides a channel to growing retailers to attend the show for free and a great channel for sponsors and exhibitors to reach retailers they wouldn't get at a physical show, as well as global leads.”