Embrace the Chinese market with passion

Celion Su

As one of the biggest multinational exhibition companies， in 2018， GL events recorded 1 billion in revenue last year it was above all the years. Its EXHIBITIONS division has a portfolio of more than 300 proprietary exhibitions and events. In the booming Chinese events industry， GL events is expanding in a comprehensive way in sectors including events organizing， venue operation and events service.

Please briefly introduce the business profile of GL events， and major business achievements in 2018.

Jor： 2018 was a remarkable year， marked by a double anniversary for the Group： 40 years of existence and 20 years as a publicly traded company. We crossed the milestone of 1 billion in revenue last year and it was above all the years.

As a provider of services for more than 4，500 events， GL events LIVE registered growth in revenue of 19.4% from 2017. The divisions profitability in 2018 was boosted by mega events： The Winter Olympics， FIFA World Cup， the Asian Games， etc. GL events EXHIBITIONS has a portfolio of more than 300 proprietary exhibitions and events. In 2018， the success of the first edition of Global Industrie in Paris and other large expos strengthened its leadership within its market segment. The division also made two selective acquisitions in the period with FISA， Chiles leading PCO/PEO， and Even Pro in France. The international network of GL events VENUES covered 50 venues in 2018. In addition to the above， what is more， the adjustments and deployments of our business development strategies for China in 2018， will be a significant impetus for our global growth in 2019 and even the next decade.

GL events has been expanding business network in China aggressively recently. How do you perceive the development of the Chinese exhibition industry and what are the business opportunities you see？

Jor： With the emergence of a large middleclass supporting forecasts for strong growth by 2021， China offers enormous potential for the exhibition industry. This markets solid fundamentals underpin a positive outlook for trade shows – in what is now the second-largest exhibition market in the world– and B2B events. We are convinced that China is key to the Groups development.

Specifically， judging from the situation in recent years， we believe that Chinas exhibition industry will show these trends in the future： The industry leading exhibitions with more the 100，000 SQMs gross space will continue to strengthen. More and more exhibition organizers will consolidate their flagship status in various forms and omnichannels. The theme of exhibitions closely related to the trend of mass consumption upgrade in China will continue to be sought after， such as food， fashion， healthcare， lifestyle and home decoration are hot industries. In addition， exhibitions of various arts and crafts are also worthy of attention in China， as the country pays more and more attention to cultural exchanges.

From a regional perspective， on one hand， these first-tier cities Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen， with the solid resources accumulated for many years， occupy undoubted leading positions； on the other hand， many second-tier and third-tier cities have also reached an unprecedented level of enthusiasm for the development of exhibition industry， which reflects in the construction of new exhibition / convention centers countrywide in the ascendant and the phenomenon of resulting in more and more regional exhibitions and itinerant events as a common trend.

In choosing partners in exhibition merging or acquisition， what are your criteria and what do you think is the secret of success in a partnership？

Jor： People may think acquisition as a shortcut for a companys rapid expansion. From the eyes of a relative “l(fā)ater comer”， yes， I appreciate its efficiency in timeconsumption compared with growing business from scratch.

However， as a kind of inheritance， like our practices in other countries， we care more about the post-merger integration. Rather than a simple mixture， we are always trying our best to reach a best model for a joint venture. In China， we have an experienced bi-cultural management team， integrating current managers of the acquired entities.

In terms of partner selection， we attach great importance to the position of cooperative companies in their own fields and the complementarity between them and GL events existing business resources. We do not simply rely on the size of the company to decide whether to cooperate or not. As for the secret of success in a partnership， our approach is to integrate our partners into GL events global network， then bring in overseas resources and draw out domestic resources bi-directionally， and eventually establish an efficient operational alliance to keep the cooperation chemistry.

About 38% of GL employees are outside of France. What are your challenges and solutions in cross-culture corporate management？ What are your strategies to cultivate and retain talents？

Jor： I think we can give you an answer by explaining GL events slogan "Bringing People Together". This vision can be reflected in the following aspects： In our settlements， selected locations around the world； In content construction； Through the quality and professionalism of exhibitions or company activities， Through our outstanding will， in our daily work， or through the sporting events of Olympic and World Cup， etc.

This vision has inspired us since its inception， but it still retains its practical significance， strength and strength today. Reputation is an important resource that we must maintain. Our CSR， “Think People， Think Green， Think Local”， is the guarantee for our sustainability. Year after year， our mixed external and internal activities have proved their relevance to the growth of 9% in 2018.

GL events is famous for its venue management service. What do you think the ideal venues look like in the future？

Jor： Our core method is to find the new opportunity with enough growth potential.“The new opportunity” includes the potential of urban location and industry development， such as the new venues Guangzhou Yuexiu International Congress Center and Shaoxing International Convention and Exhibition Center which I mentioned before.

On this foundation， whether there are opportunities for further participation in the early stage of the project is also an important criterion for our decision. Thats because we can offer our professional advice on venue positioning， function planning and hardware matching. Whats more， in the later period， we will focus on how to bring more exhibitions to the venue， and even to invest resources to cultivate new exhibitions.

In other words， the ideal venue in GL events eyes， aims at how to create a place for the city and the owners to realize of the aim "bringing people together"， which is also the fundamental idea of GL events venue management business. With the coming vigorous development of China exhibition industry， I strongly believe that venue management has great potential in this market.

What do you think are the cooperation opportunities between China and France in the exhibition industry？

Jor： As China and France celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations， the two countries are pushing forward the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership. In this context， the exhibition industries of the two nations are ushering in a monumental moment in collaboration. Undoubtedly， GL events as a French exhibition company will take lots of advantages， all of which will bring us a good timing to boost our development in China. In GL events point of view， and taking our own business characteristics into consideration， the China exhibition industry should be a much larger macro system.

What I would like to express is our solid belief in the strength of cooperation， the wisdom and the accomplishment of China and France. At the same time， as France will be the Guest of Honor of China International Import Expo the 2019 edition， GL events will also make its debut at CIIE. Were coming for the vast MICE cooperation range between China and France. Looking forward to seeing you soon and your visit will be our great pleasure.