(Pictured: A panel of chefs and restaurateurs give advice at Clarion Events’ Western Food Expo)
Clarion Events North America, one of the fastest-growing and most successful tradeshow companies in the United States, concluded a record-breaking year fueled by innovation, acquisition and multiple event launches.
The growth for Clarion has redefined their portfolio entering new and adjacent markets as well as created new opportunities within many of Clarion’s existing brands.
Strategic acquisition has propelled Clarion over the last two years entering new markets allowing for further portfolio diversification and growing Clarion’s business throughout the United States.
In 2019, Clarion has taken a bold stance entering the technology sector with two recent acquisitions which included INSURETECH Connect and MAU.
“These brands are showcasing the power of disruption for their industries,” says Greg Topalian, CEO of Trumbull, Conn.-based Clarion Events North America. “Their content-led focus along with the high value on true customer connections in an exciting technology space is something that I’ve always wanted to be part of as it changes the current value of tradeshows as we know them today.”
Expanding their market reach, a transition that is still underway, Clarion Events has launched nine events over the last two years including entering new sectors such as anime, accessories and healthy food. Clarion’s unique ability to understand and deliver on the customer needs within each market have been what has propelled these launch events forward in a meaningful way.
Courtney Muller, chief corporate development and strategy officer, comments: “Our customers’ needs are changing and industries are continuing to evolve. Our priority has been and continues to be on building event brands that meet these changing needs. What especially excites me is finding new niches and regions to serve.”
Clarion’s launch events include: ADORN, Anime NYC, Anime Frontier, Coffee Fest Pacific Northwest, Healthy Food West, Healthy Food Expo Florida, Healthy Food NY, Philadelphia Souvenir & Resort Show and The Gathering West.
In addition to Clarion’s acquisition and launch activity, the company has also been actively working on furthering connections of buyers and sellers across all their events. Match program is an attendee-led, guaranteed meetings program that has now been added to 20-plus shows within the Clarion portfolio.
“The role our events play for our customers is evolving”, says Liz Irving, SVP of Clarion. “Our customers are increasingly looking for new ways to connect with one another to find niche opportunities that directly connect them with people, products and solutions that meet their current and future needs. Our Match program personalizes the experience through the perfect combination of technology and concierge services.”
The program has allowed the Clarion teams to actively work with buyers and sellers on matching needs and has created face-to-face meetings for over 4500 customers just in 2019 with investment and plans to expand their reach in 2020.
Topalian adds: “I’m so proud of the Clarion team for continuing to find new opportunities that have allowed our business to outperform the market. We’ll continue to focus on new event models that evolve the face-to-face experience, listen to our customers and focus on the future of our markets and markets we are actively looking to enter. The success we have achieved is a great example of Clarion’s deep knowledge of customer needs, the strength and talent of our teams and the thoughtful process we under-take around our business.”
Clarion Events operates over 180 events in 50 countries from 15 offices in the UK, the US, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, UAE, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. Clarion can trace its roots back to 1947 and takes great pride in being one of the oldest independent event organizers in the UK. More recently the firm has developed an international portfolio of brands and now has interests in a number of global vertical industries including energy, security and defense, electronics, technology, fashion, retail, gaming and marketing. The teams at Clarion create uniquely effective and stimulating environments that can serve as a platform to build businesses, enhance customer relationships and accelerate product awareness. For more info, visit https://www.clarionux.com/.
