Fall trade show cancellation deals another blow to business community

Kowalchuk and Chamber staff have been reaching out to previous vendors over the last month to gauge interest in attending the fall trade show.

It became apparent however that the demand would not come close to previous years’ levels.

“A lot of exhibitors weren’t able to participate for a variety of reasons,” said Kowalchuk. “Whether that was their own personal circumstances, financials, or just the uncertainty. So, when you couple that with the uncertainty of the regulations pertaining to mass gathering restrictions and of course that decline in exhibitor interest, we just felt that we needed to make a decision early on.”

Last year’s Great West Home & Leisure Show saw over 160 vendors fill roughly 250 booths at the Cypress Centre and only trails the spring trade show as the Chamber’s largest annual event.

Pressure washing company Kirbapeal’s owner Jason Wilks has a long history with the trade show both as a Chamber employee and as an entrepreneur and said it’s consistently one of the business community’s most reliable events.

“As a business owner and operator, that’s one of our big advertising and marketing pushes,” said Wilks. “So, it’s a little disappointing on our end, but it’s understandable.”

Businesses like Wilks’ will be missing out on an estimated 8,000 unique visitors to the fall trade show and the face-to-face interactions with potential clients that they rely on.

“For us trade show is the biggest bang for the buck,” said Wilks. “So, it’s going to be more expensive and or more time consuming on our end to go through more traditional ways of marketing. It’s one of those things where it might be a gamble here later this year.”

The Medicine Hat & District Chamber say the decision to pull the fall trade show from their schedule is one that will have significant financial impacts as they expect to lose between $30,000 and $40,000 in revenues.

Thanks to reserves built up over the years however, Kowalchuk said they are still in a good spot financially despite the cancellation.

“We have built those reserve funds, so we are in a stable position to be able to sustain the organization,” she said. “It’s just a matter of looking at different ways to deliver services and value to our community.”

Though disappointed by the news and having to re-adjust his marketing plans for the fall season, Wilks added the local Chamber had been placed in a tough situation.

“I think what they’re doing is trying to do the best thing for the community,” said Wilks. “They’re in a lose-lose situation right now, whatever choice they made is the right choice.”

While one Chamber event received the axe this week, another will go on in a slightly different format this fall.

Kowalchuk confirmed they will still be holding their annual business awards in an online presentation to keep the spirits of local entrepreneurs as high as possible during a trying time.

“We need to make sure that we’re celebrating our successes, that we are celebrating our business community, that there is that level of optimism,” said Kowalchuk. “There are some amazing things our business community is doing right now in the midst of this pandemic.”

A trial membership option has also been launched by the Chamber to encourage businesses to access services offered by the organization in the coming months.

by Scott Roblin

Fall trade show cancellation deals another blow to business community

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