Opinion
Supplier and demand
Steve Barratt , CEO at Full Circle Events , looks forward to a strong return of live shows
The inclusion of events in the
Government ’ s roadmap was a great boost in February and I ’ m overjoyed to feel our hard work over the previous year begin to align with a schedule for return .
Being a UK supplier is an exhilarating endeavour at the best of times , but it has been a truly exceptional experience to witness the landscape transform so monumentally in such a short amount of time .
Of course , business leaders will always find the advantage in a crisis and that ’ s what we have seen in the supplier scene . Some withdrew - and fair play to them - others went all in , and inevitably , the VCs started circling to see what might be picked up for free .
We made a choice early on at Full Circle to forget the banana bread and get out there and get ready . We spent the past year assembling a supergroup made up of great friends and colleagues whose authority and knowledge we couldn ’ t standby and risk losing from the industry . This includes Gwyneth Humphreys ( portfolio director , GES ), Steve Comar , ( director of operations , Freeman ), and Charles Paines and Greg Cussons ( divisional directors , Joe Manby ).
With Gwyneth heading up Full Circle Scotland and Charles and Greg at our new Yorkshire base , we are coming into the new normal running a national network of operational facilities , including mainstays in Manchester and London , and holding the largest variety and amount of stock in the UK , and one of the largest in Europe .
So where has the industry landed ? From the supplier perspective , we ’ re not in bad shape . We will have lost , by the end of all the support the government
“ It ’ s the margin that needs to be the bedrock focus going forward .”
Steve Barratt , CEO at Full CircleEvents
has , or hasn ’ t , given us , around 40-50 % of the supplier chain . But , aside from the agency model VCs , we ’ ve got two real suppliers left , both solid , capable operations with very different value propositions . It ’ s a healthy dynamic and , therefore , I see very little risk to our UK event brands at a time when we need to give their exhibitors an exceptional return experience .
I am also reassured that collectively we all know a thing or two about delivering a great visitor experience , which will of course be key . But it ’ s the margin that needs to be the bedrock focus going forward . We are entering into a risky territory post Covid-19 because we ’ re in danger of equating layers of procedure and regulation with speed of economic return , and that ’ s a misnomer .
My feeling on this is that we need to go steady . When choosing which hoops to jump through , remember we have the best track and trace system in the world already - it ’ s called registration . Additional procedures should be decided on the science but will , in the end , come down to commercial necessity . What is deemed a necessity for one industry ( events : 6m aisles ) might be deemed less so for another ( shopping : 2m aisles ).
But for now , breathe deeply , enjoy the optimism , stick up for your margins , and start planning .
March-April — 50