Every Fall across Canada there have been an assortment of Canadian buying /room shows for several years. Some were larger than others but each show gave attendees the opportunity to view products, build relationships, network and hopefully take in some educational seminars to improve their business. Every year I heard from manufactures /distributors that exhibited, complain about the number of shows, high transportation costs and the uncoordinated times/locations forcing many reps to spend a month or more on the road.
Then the pandemic hit early 2020. With the majority of the world shut down and a variety of staged locked downs, people needed to be secure and working from home was the safest alternative.
For trade shows, various event organizers wanted to maintain a presence and awareness during these uncertain times and since the world is moving into the digital age, convert the buying show to virtual was a good alternative.
As the country started to open up this year and thankfully the vaccine appears to work, all regions of Canada continue to have Covid infections. For various reasons some provinces like Alberta are being hit harder than other areas.
With all this going on I was surprised to read this summer that the PGA of Alberta, PGA of Manitoba and the BPG group announce they were going to run their buying shows with safety precautions in place. In the USA the PGA Merchandise Show, the world’s largest and most influential golf business event run by Reed Exhibitions in Orlando each January was going back to their traditional show. Recently the Canadian Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Ontario Golf Couse Superintendents Association announced a joint golf course management conference for January 2022.
As we all know, the sport of golf actually benefited from the pandemic. People wanted to be outside and the number of new golfers multiplied as well as rounds in almost every course across Canada. It was hard to find a tee time in 2020 and private clubs started to having waiting lists again.
So, if sales were escalating and people able to network on line along with manufacturers/distributors saving vast sums on show/travel expenses; why the rush to bring back physical shows when we are still in the middle of the pandemic! Could you not wait a year and let the virus slow down or die?
Martin Boucher from BPG said their show would continue in Quebec and anyone attending the show had to be vaccinated and abide with all safety rules and conditions. Boucher said “it’s not about the money but about service. Quebec has one of the lowest case counts in Canada and the province has been good at managing the pandemic. We are only running the buying show part and have cancelled all other networking events”. The majority of attendees at the BPG show are from Quebec and people attending the show are not limited. However, he expects inspectors to show up each day and check on safety measure. Boucher also said “plexiglass would be at reception but exhibitors would not require their booths to have the protective shields”.
In speaking with a number of golf companies and distributors, it was evident that some felt pressure to support the association. Companies did not want to say no but were concerned with the safety of their sales staff. Boucher said “there was no pressure and understood if a company did not come to the show this year”.
We asked the PGA of Alberta similar questions but before we could have a conversation, they announced their show this year was cancelled. The association said in their release “Pressure on our healthcare system, current COVID-19 numbers, and the Government of Alberta declaring a state of public health emergency are some of the reasons behind the decision to cancel. The Association does not want to put anyone’s health at risk by attending the Show and had to make the decision to postpone to 2022.
The PGA Merchandise show in Orlando announced their 2022 show will be held for four days from Tuesday, January 25 to Friday January 28, 2022. Last week Pro Shop magazine and other attendees who attended previous shows received a survey asking if we were planning to attend in January and if not the reasons why. Reading between the lines you would think the show is receiving many questions from potential exhibitors on who would be attending the show and not to forget the show is being held in one of the hot spots for Covid-19. I am sure many companies are assessing their options and trying to justify investing substantial dollars to exhibit if attendance is low but most importantly how safe it will be?
We would all like to get back to our normal way of living our lives sooner than later. But is it worth taking the risk and possibly helping prolong the pandemic? It is time for everyone to be responsible and make the right decisions. From all accounts, sales appear to be growing, people are able to communicate online or listen to podcasts etc. So, let’s all be responsible, don’t put anyone’s health at risk and let’s keep everyone safe and continue with digital formats for the near future.
