Promoting industry development with high quality exhibitions

Celion Su

As Chief Financial Officer – Greater China of Messe München Shanghai Co.， Ltd.， Mr. Thomas Loeffler is responsible for the Outbound Business， the Consumer Good shows in China as well as Finance & Controlling. He believes that being a “square meter dealer” alone will not be sustainable for organizers in the future and digital business solutions are needed to increase the exhibitors and visitors ROI.

Growth driven by combined efforts

Since Mr. Thomas Loeffler started his role as a member of the Management Board of the company， he has been leading a rapidly growing number of Chinese companies to worldwide trade shows by Messe München， especially for the brand exhibitions in Germany. As he introduced， currently， due to strong government focus on a series of industry sectors and the Chinese national initiative of China Manufacturing 2025， the participation of Chinese exhibitors and visitors to leading Messe München shows such as bauma， LASER， electronica， AUTOMATICA， IFAT， etc. has been increasing continuously. In fact， in the year 2016 and the first half of 2017， China as one of the 10 focus countries in Messe Münchens international network performed very well and was in the top 3 position in regard of total space sales， space growth rate and total visitor numbers among 130 country representatives.

According to Mr. Loeffler， this is also due to the strong support of Messe München Shanghais existing agents， for whom the company organizes a yearly celebration to show its appreciation. He also points out that Messe München Shanghai does not sell exhibition space directly， but fully supports the partners in recruiting exhibitors and visitors to Messe München trade shows.

The innovation route of trade shows

Among Messe Münchens over 40 global trade shows for capital， newtech and consumer goods， fourteen of these are the worlds No. 1 in their sectors and are on the innovation edge. Mr. Loeffler comments that when planning a trade show， it is essential to follow the innovation cycle of the industries and listen to market needs. For example， ISPO MUNICH - sporting goods and fashion show is held on yearly basis to make sure that exhibitors and visitors catch up with the fast change of market trends， while Drinktec， which focuses on liquid food and beverage technology， follows a longer industry innovation cycle and is held every four years.

Mr. Loeffler also points out that the concurrent forums during the exhibitions are of great significance in supporting the industry development. These forums gather high level experts from the field and give attendees an insight into latest industry developments.“Through such informative educational activities， trade show organizers are able to be part of the industry and contribute to the industry development”， he expressed. This insight also gives Messe München an open mind in the competition with exhibitions of similar subjects， Messe München simply focuses on its strengths and keep on digitally innovating and improving quality.

When talking about future trends in the industry， Mr. Loeffler believes that it will not work out anymore for organizers just to sell space and organize confererences. He believes that organizers have to provide additional value to exhibition clients to complement the trade shows. A good way to achieve this is through digital business solutions. For example， in ISPO Shanghai 2016， Messe München set up a “Click& Buy” live broadcast on Chinese largest e-commerce platform in order to involve the Chinese consumer. More than 100，000 consumers watched the broadcast and purchased items. It was a major success.“We must increase the ROI of the exhibitors through digital channels and other instruments，” he said. He also observes that currently， in the Consumer Goods industry， marketing budgets are shifting from B2B to B2C instruments. There are more and more B2C trade shows in the market than before， and brands have chosen B2C trade shows instead of B2B shows as a showcase for their products， and this is something for organizers to consider in adjusting the show content and format.

Building a bridge between China and Germany

As a management member in the Chinese subsidiary， Mr. Loeffler understands both the expectations of the Germany headquarter and the thinking style of the Chinese colleagues and is able to effectively connect the two parties， leading the Chinese subsidiary on continuous growth. “I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to learn from the Chinese culture and be a bridge between the Chinese subsidiary and the German headquarter，” he said.

Actually， before coming to China， Mr. Loeffler had been working in India for several years and successfully launched the Indian edition of bauma， the worlds leading trade fair for construction， building material and mining machines. With the American Association for Equipment Manufacturers （AEM） he launched the first BAUMA CONEXPO INDIA in 2011. He invites Chinese exhibitors to give more attention to the trade shows in India， which due to high economic growth rate and the huge market volume， embraces great potential for exhibition industry development. “India is not an easy market， but patience is needed to succeed”， he believes. He is very glad to see that since two years ago， Chinese participation in Messe München shows in India is growing rapidly.

In the conclusion of the interview， Mr. Loeffler told the reporter that he enjoys meeting people from various industries very much as an exhibition organizer. With a cross-cultural management background and the passion for the exhibition industry， together with the management team， Mr. Loeffler will lead the teams of Messe München Shanghai to further growth in China and introduce more Chinese exhibitors to world markets through the high quality exhibitions of Messe München.