Augsburg: Messe Augsburg writes millions in losses in the Corona year

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Messe Augsburg lacks important income without events. How trade fair managing director Lorenz Rau is planning the new start. A digital platform plays a central role.

The trade fair industry is one of the big losers from the corona pandemic nationwide. In the case of the fair
Augsburg this is shown by a loss in the millions. Without trade fairs and concerts on the exhibition grounds, important income is missing. In addition, there is still great uncertainty as to how things can continue in the coming months. However, there are first attempts to revive the trade fair with new concepts. Augsburg sees itself in a pioneering role, says fair managing director Lorenz Rau.

The program was only full in January and February

The year 2020 is not very positive for Messe Augsburg. The planned events only took place in January and February. Due to the corona pandemic, the Grindtec trade fair had to be canceled in mid-March. It would have been the largest event on the exhibition grounds to date. All halls were occupied, additional halls were already in place.
Corona thwarted the plans. The initially targeted postponement of the trade fair to November could not be implemented either. The event program at the exhibition center has been almost at a standstill since March.

Only in front of the fenced-in exhibition center was there a small replacement program in summer. A drive-in cinema made it possible for motorists to experience movies on the large exhibition grounds. In addition, several well-known cabaret artists appeared in Augsburg. An exhibition hall has also been converted into the exhibition center. The corona test center has been housed here in a specially cordoned-off area for a few weeks.

Annual sales of Messe Augsburg are almost halved

The end of many canceled events means considerable financial damage for the trade fair. The annual turnover of Messe Augsburg in 2019 was around 6.3 million. Euro. In 2020, trade fair managing director Rau expects total sales of around 3.6 million. Euro. As a result, the trade fair only achieves around half of the sales actually planned, he explains. It should be taken into account that the even years, like 2020, are always a little better off anyway. The Grindtec, for example, takes place every two years. The resulting loss of millions was overcome by taking out loans, says Rau: “The liquidity required for 2020 and 2021 could be obtained on the capital market at normal market conditions.”

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The company would not be able to survive without loans, says Rau: “Loss of income can be compensated for for a while with savings programs, but after ten months without regular operations this is no longer sufficient.” The company with 30 employees is currently on short-time work. In order to reduce expenses, planned investments for 2021 have been postponed.

Trade fair boss Rau speaks of a challenge

Exhibition director Rau does not want to rate the company’s situation as “critical”: “Challenging describes the situation more accurately.” Economically, the year 2020 is of course a major setback for Messe Augsburg. The year started with positive expectations and good figures. Now the situation is different. With the efforts of all those involved, it was possible to keep Messe Augsburg fit for the future despite the current economic conditions. Rau says: “However, our business is now directly linked to the course of the pandemic in Germany and particularly in Augsburg. If the number of infections continues to rise, this gives little hope that our economic situation will ease.” If this happens, “we are inevitably dependent on further aid measures”.

Hope gives rise to the fact that many companies need trade fairs as platforms for dialogue and sales promotion in times of crisis. Rau is counting on it: “Our formats will therefore be an urgently needed instrument for the economic upswing in the coming year.” We have learned from the hard changes in 2020 and are better prepared for trade fairs and congresses under the prevailing framework conditions than at the beginning of the pandemic.

The event celebrates its premiere in December

According to Rau, Messe Augsburg is doing “digital pioneering work”. Together with service partners, it was possible to set up a digital congress format. With the “Off-Grid Expo + Conference”, Messe Augsburg will for the first time implement the congress fair for self-sufficient power generation as a purely digital event format on December 3rd and 4th. Product workshops, conferences, but also direct exchange and networking with exhibitors or other visitors are possible on the digital platform. The Augsburg trade fair boss is convinced that “especially for a trade fair location like Augsburg, digital and hybrid event formats will enable easier access to international target groups in the future”.

How does the corona crisis affect event technicians? Listen to our podcast from July 2020 from the series “Augsburg, Meine Stadt”:

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