Hannover Messe finally canceled
Comment: Reason lives in Hanover
It could have been so beautiful in July, but the unpredictable situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic put a spanner in the works for the organizers, exhibitors and visitors. Hannover Messe will not take place again until 2021. The decision is consistent and correct.
Once again, the Deutsche Messe AG team deserves respect for announcing the cancellation, as bitter as it is: that's how you do it, one would like to shout to a Munich trade fair organizer in particular, who had left the cancellation of the intralogistics trade fair LogiMAT open until the literal last moment at the beginning of March. We remember: In those days, Deutsche Messe AG had already announced the postponement of the Hannover Messe from April to July - out of concern for the health of exhibitors and visitors. Consistent, timely and marketed with the pretty slogan "New Date, same Story".
The announcement came at the right time, allowing travel plans to be changed, hotels to be canceled and trade fair constructors to cancel. The same now applies to the decision to finally cancel the trade fair for 2020 and rely on 2021. No more waiting, no more trusting assurances that things could still go well with a lot of hope and disinfectant. No whistling in the woods, no policy of silence. Deutsche Messe AG has also been hit hard by the decision; for a trade fair with more than 200,000 visitors, there is no substitute program that could save sales. Even if it may be little consolation to Dr. Jochen Köckler and his team: common sense lives in Hanover.
After the bitter disappointment of the cancellation of LogiMAT and the associated financial losses, the industry is now facing the next hard blow. The path to virtual trade fairs, which has already been successfully taken by many companies, is becoming increasingly clear. More and more companies are now questioning the investment in stand rental, personnel, stand construction and the like. The internet is a tried-and-tested way to reach customers, generate leads and communicate new products to the trade, and not just in times of coronavirus. Now is the time to take this path.
Martin Schrüfer, Editor-in-Chief of materialfluss and LT-manager
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