Big Interview
from Tarsus
MD of global exhibition organiser Tarsus
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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
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