Exhibition News September 2022 | Page 10

TECHNOLOGY

Omnipotent strategy

With technological innovation behind them Hyve is banking on returning to full strength by roling out their omnichannel strategy across all their brands and growing into new industries where there is scope for digital growth . Group strategy director Jessica Natinsky tells EN editor Emily Wallin how they plan to use technology to complement and improve their offering and are confident on the continuing need for real life interactions

Hyve Group ’ s omnichannel strategy started before live events were shut down , but the pandemic opened their eyes to the possibilities of harnessing technology to complement their trade shows .

Hyve ’ s latest interim results , published in May , show the group ’ s live events are recovering better than predicted , thanks largely to their omnichannel growth – according to
CEO Mark Shashoua .
Revenue climbed to £ 56.6m in the six months to 31 March 2022 , up from £ 5m for the same period a year earlier , with Shoptalk singled out as a particular highlight , outperforming all expectations and delivered a double digit increase in like-for-like revenue compared to its 2019 event .
Shoptalk , with its global , industrywide reach and tech-enabled model , is a good illustration of where Hyve is heading they say – focusing in on global , industry-leading , omnichannel platforms .
Group strategy director Jessica Natinsky tells EN the omnichannel strategy implemented at Shoptalk is being successfully replicated across their leading brands , including Bett , Autumn and Spring Fairs .
Explaining the strategy she says :
10 — September