Easyfairs publishes Activity Report: A Journey into the Future of Events

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1921

International event organiser and venue manager, Easyfairs, has published its latest Activity Report covering the years 2018-2019, focusing on how it is disrupting the industry by “easifying” the experience for its visitors and exhibitors.

The Activity Report is entitled A Journey into the Future of Events, echoing the company’s mission and tagline, “Visit the Future”.

Introducing the report, Easyfairs Group CEO and founding father, Eric Everard, explores the drivers of change in the events industry, concluding that people will always want to meet and interact face-to-face and experience innovation first hand: “People will say: ‘I like the tech, but I want the touch!’” So long as technology is harnessed to make the experience of “being there” even more satisfying, the events industry has a fantastic future.

Easyfairs reported further strong growth in EBITDA in its financial year 2018-2019 (16.8%). The report goes on to describe some of the major highlights and achievements over the past two years, notably:

  • The company made several strategic acquisitions including the All About Automation (AAA) and Forum Maschinenbau (FMB) industrial trade show series in Germany, Packaging Première in Italy, Building Holland in the Netherlands and Futurebuild in the UK as well as the Aesthetics Media portfolio of live events and publications.
  • Easyfairs extended its “Heroes” network of events for fans of comics, sci-fi and fantasy with the acquisition of Made in Asia and Retro Made in Asia.
  • Easyfairs is also expanding the events portfolio organically through geocloning. For example, its School Education Transformation Technology (SETT) event, pioneered in Sweden, was launched in Namur and Ghent, Belgium.
  • New event launches included PLD Paris, which serves buyers of premium drinks packaging
  • Easyfairs introduced and enhanced technology innovations to “easify” the customer experience, including its Smart Badges, EasyGo and My Easyfairs offerings.
  • Easyfairs consolidated its position as one of the world’s top 20 event organisers.
  • Easyfairs continues to win awards: it was named Belgium’s Enterprise of the Year 2018 and earned recognition as a Deloitte Best Managed Company and a Great Place to Work.

Although Easyfairs’ main focus is events, it is also a leading venue manager in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. In 2019 Easyfairs opened a third venue in Sweden, Åbymässan, serving the dynamic Gothenburg metropolitan area. Existing venues were refurbished and modernised, including a completely new hall at Antwerp Expo and a new multi-functional high-tech space for conferences, product launches and other events at Evenementenhal, Gorinchem, the Next Level.

Over the past two years, Easyfairs has also put a very strong emphasis on winning the battle for an increasingly diverse range of talents in what is, after all, a “people business” par excellence: “Our drive to the future will be guided not only by exhibition industry specialists but also by talented data scientists, market analysts, social marketeers and creative entertainers,” writes Everard.

Talent is one of five key success factors described in detail, the others being customer centricity, “easify”, a fully integrated and scalable platform and a technology and data-driven organisation.

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com