ad there been no coronavirus outbreak, Doug Emslie would have been out running the Boston and Tokyo Marathons, with one in South Africa in June for good measure.

Instead, he has been overseeing a sprint to ensure his global exhibition company copes in the fast unfolding situation.

So, what were the immediate measures taken at Tarsus to protect the business as the Covid-19 outbreak first flared?

“ The process began on Sunday 12 January when I got my first call about one of our big shows in China. That was the first indication that there was a problem. We learned we would be subject to postponement and things moved quickly.

“ We have since postponed 49 events and cancelled one.”

Like any good event organiser Emslie breaks down the task at hand: In terms of show schedules and the operational side there was the small matter of moving a large amount of shows.“ We have a big biennial swing and it is also the quieter six months of the quieter year,” he notes.

Emslie thinks the industry is going to be at 140 % capacity in that last four months of 2020, which would surely put an inevitable squeeze on the calendar?

“ There is a big issue in terms of venue slots,” he admits.“ There will be problems with contractors in terms of labour and equipment. It is a big challenge. We are in constant dialogue with venues and contractors.”

Emslie says he is hopeful that China will see more events in June( following the Hunan Auto Show, which opened 30 April – ed).

The easing did not come in time for the Canton Fair, which went online, however.“ That is mainly all about local manufacturers selling to international buyers, so it was no surprise they stopped that event‘ live’ as buyers couldn’ t get into the country,” Emslie points out.

But China is opening up again and all Tarsus offices were operational there apart from Wuhan before the end of April.

Emslie says his big China team was kept busy, initially from home, rescheduling events, while many in the smaller teams – particularly in sales and marketing roles- in the UK and US- were furloughed.

“ In April and May Tarsus was very much in the phase of managing the business’ s cash flow.“ There has been very little coming in, although we’ re beginning to see cash move in China now,” says Emslie.

“ We are managing our cash carefully and keeping all our employees.

“ In the US there was somewhat of a wait for clarity on the various government schemes of support,” he notes, emphasising that Tarsus has played a big part in lobbying for the industry to US government.

“ When things do come back we need to invest in promoting the industry again,” he says.

M & A After operational issues and day-to day management of cash and people, the third pillar of the Tarsus response surrounds the question of the opportunities Covid-19 will present. In terms of M & A, the problem, Emslie believes, will be expectation management between buyer and seller.

Opposite: Doug Emslie, Group MD of Tarsus and SISO Chair

“ Buyer questions would include: When is a show going to run again? What is 2021 and 2022 going to look like? They are unknowns.

“ While the seller would say:‘ We made this money and the multiple is this’. But, of course, now the profits won’ t be the same.”

Which leads on to what the new normal might look like.

“ There will be added costs in running shows,” Emslie is sure.“ Just think about the extra costs in health and safety and to make the environment safe for our customers. There will be extra operational costs. You can’ t have long queues at registration or lots of people in the exhibition halls.”

That raises the question of quality versus quantity.

“ We’ ve got to put very good buyers in front of customers,” says Emslie.“ It is no longer good enough having loads of people wandering about. There will be more one-to-one meetings. People will want quality rather than big crowds.”

SISO It is clearly an‘ interesting’ time for Emslie to be taking over as Chair of the Society of Independent Show Organisers( SISO), although he did become Chairman at the UK’ s Association of Event Organisers( AEO) after the last financial crisis.

“ I’ m just a bad omen,” he jokes, but has set out two serious objectives for the association.“ One is to continue to do more internationally. SISO has been regarded as an American association, yet 30 % of membership is international and having an international component enables you to learn.”

He adds that it is important to