Global Times (Feb 1st, 2010) Zhu Shan
I believe that ‘Reed Exhibitions’ is well known to many people who have attended large exhibitions. As you know, Reed Exhibitions is a leading exhibition organizer in the world, and a member of Reed Elsevier Group, a world leading publisher and provider of business information. In November 2009, Reed Exhibitions held the Second Greater China Annual Management Conference —— China Summit in Beijing. Mr. Mike Rusbridge, Chairman & CEO of Reed Exhibitions Worldwide delivered a key-note speech entitled “Winning in China”, and emphasized the power of exhibition and the power of Reed Exhibitions.
Afterwards, Mr. Rusbridge was interviewed by journalists on the exhibition market in China and the business operation of Reed Exhibitions in China. During his interview, more than once, he expressed high recognition of and confidence in the company’s development in China, and he repeatedly emphasized: “China is a market that holds our sustained interest.”
Review of 2009 & Prospect for 2010
The year 2009 is passed with the turbulence of economic depression. As a leading group in the exhibition industry, Reed Exhibitions also encountered great difficulties. As to Reed Exhibition’s business in Greater China in 2009, Mr. Rusbridge said that it was generally satisfactory: “The business in Greater China accounted for one tenth of the total business of Reed Exhibitions. According to statistics provided by Reed Exhibitions, the business in China was good in 2009. Although the speed of growth was lower than previous years, the growth rate still reached 10%. The economic crisis greatly impacted the electronics manufacturing sector. However, business in the pharmaceutical and packaging sectors was not bad. Earnestly speaking, in the past 12 months, business improvement in Greater China was immense for Reed Exhibitions. In addition, Reed Exhibitions spent much effort on staff training and service improvement. The number of visitors increased at a satisfactory rate. Frankly speaking, such healthy and positive growth has exceeded our expectation.”
When asked of its prospect for the Chinese market in 2010, Mr. Rusbridge said, “In the next 5 years, China and Brazil are the two markets with foreseeable high growth rate. As to China, the overall market will see sustained rapid growth. We will naturally pour more of our effort here, and always focus on exhibitions and conferences, and will temporarily refrain from tapping other businesses. However, in the sectors and fields related to exhibitions, Reed Exhibitions will boldly launch some new projects. At present, we are still negotiating with some of our potential partners. Generally speaking, year 2010 means opportunity and increased confidence to us.”
Shanghai World Expo indicates a maturing exhibition Industry in China
As we know, the World Expo, the greatest event in the exhibition industry will be held in Shanghai in 2010. As a senior expert in the exhibition industry, Mr. Rusbridge expressed great interest in and sincere expectation on Shanghai World Expo: “Its influence will not be just limited to the period of the event. Inevitably, it will bring long-term and profound impact on the exhibition industry in Shanghai. Similar to the fact that the world got to know about Beijing and became greatly interested in Beijing after the Olympic Games was held in Beijing, when the world witness the advantages of Shanghai, more, greater, better opportunities will be brought to Shanghai. Moreover, the World Expo was an occasion that numerous precious experiences would be accumulated for the exhibition industry in Shanghai, and a great number of dedicated industry professionals would be trained. Favorable results will take effect in the subsequent years. In addition, Reed Exhibition will doubtlessly become the most direct beneficiary from the improved hardware facilities. We will spare no effort to find appropriate opportunities to expand the business of Reed Exhibitions by fully utilizing the venues built for the World Expo.”
As to the overall level and status quo of the industry development in China, Mr. Rusbridge expressed his surprise on the maturation of the exhibition industry in China, and he fully recognized the stable growth of Chinese market: “We can see that during the organization and operation of the World Expo, organizers involved in the exhibition industry in China have done a very professional job. This to a large extent demonstrated that exhibitions in China are well organized. Reed Exhibitions is learning from them as well. As to the second- or third-tier cities, we have also found many almost perfectly developed and very modernized exhibition facilities and fairgrounds. Our interest was no longer limited to first-tier cities. We realized that we should extend our business to possibly every province, and keep a close eye on the development of such provinces.”
Victory is a result of cooperation and innovation
During the summit, Mr. Rusbridge mentioned that Reed Exhibitions will effectively optimize its business in China. When asked of the major concerns in the process to achieve this goal, Mr. Rusbridge explained: “First of all, support from the Government is very essential. In recent years, as to Reed Exhibition, the Chinese Government has offered a more mature operation environment; Secondly, Reed Exhibitions would not focus on the growth of business only, but rather, more attention will be paid to the quality of events. For our exhibitors, their own products and services are improving, and they wish to achieve the most effective optimization. Therefore, we are required to provide more professional, better-quality services to reach a win-win result.”
When talking about the successful cooperation with Chinese partners and his feeling of being a leader in the industry, Mr. Rusbridge said in a smile: “I think everybody has the same feeling that working itself is not easy, and cooperation is neither easy to anyone. Success is the height reached by both parties in cooperation based on an open attitude and perseverance for long-term commitment. As far as our experience is concerned, our cooperation with local partners is very successful and pleasant. As to my own personal feeling, to be specific, I believe that a successful leader should first of all be farsighted, determined, and dedicated to his cause. The most essential quality for an entrepreneur is innovative spirit. Success is a result of tacit cooperation, bold innovation, and of course, a little bit of good luck.”