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Comdex Operators File for Bankruptcy
VileScum writes "According to this article in The Australian, Los Angeles-based Key3Media Group, the company operating the giant Comdex trade show, filed for protection from its creditors yesterday in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Does this mean I have to start buying cloths again instead of getting them at trade shows?" Also see a story in The New York Times. Concerns of bankruptcy were voiced last November.
I'm amazed that you interpret a snide remark as "bitching and moaning".
But then, I'm also amazed that a person that gets paid to be an [b]editor[/b] doesn't. It'd be a bit like getting paid to paint houses and not bothering with the spots you can't reach.
It's about pride in your craft. Pudge is an editor. Expecting an editor to produce a single sentence his high school English teacher would approve is not too much to ask.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
Just a few of the typical expenses (daily rates):
- $20 to rent an $8 table.
- $25 for access to an electrical outlet. Don't plug anything in yourself, though, or some teamster will break your fingers.
- $200 for access to a fractional T1 (a very small fraction, most times).
- $10 to rent a $4 chair.
- Want carpet? That'll be $100. Want that carpet unrolled?...
- Bring your own equipment? Too bad, you've got to pay a fee to be allowed to use it.
You haven't dealt with monopolies until you've tried to exhibit at a convention. One company controls all access, labor, and equipment, and you've got no say over how any of it is handled.A manufacturer's money is much better spent sending out press releases and designing an infomative web presence.
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As an IT professional for the past 10 years, I can tell you that my employer has stopped expensing people's trips to Comdex. There's just not enough ROI there to approve the expense anymore. And with companies losing money left and right, extraneous expenses like trips to Comdex are the first things they look at when they want to cut costs.
Once the economy rebounds, either Comdex, or another trade-show will rise from the ashes and become *the* place to be if you're an IT professional. Until then, corporations are more worried about bottom-line and stockholder expectations, than letting Joe IT go on a trip to Vegas...
You know, it's all in how you look at it. Since Comdex was surrounded by clouds of doom, virtually none of my competitors exhibited and thus anyone looking for my type of product had little else to do but to visit my booth. We got a thousand leads during the week, and many of these have turned into sales (we make expensive enterprise stuff, so a handful of orders can pay for the show). Another interesting thing was that due to the shitty economy, it seemed like the only people walking the hall were people who worked for companies who actually needed to buy things. Nobody was sending people to Comdex just for the hell of it. So there were a lot fewer morons asking for shirts, pens, mouse pads, and, of course, nobody asked for a cloth. I do agree, though, with previous posters who rail against paying $25 to rent a $3.99 power strip, and other such atrocities. How someone can go bankrupt doing this is beyond me.
It seems that according to their press release, they have a plan and intend to continue with all conferences.
Here's the memo that Key3Media CEO Fred Rosen sent out yesterday--it's even on InternalMemos.comalready.
From: Fred Rosen - Key3Media
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 8:15 AM
Subject: Important News From Key3Media
February 3, 2003
To Our Colleagues in the Technology Community:
We wanted to let you know about some news that will have a very positive impact on our ability to serve you going forward. Key3Media today reached an agreement to recapitalize the Company. It includes a voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 protection, which will allow us to remove the majority of our debt, restore a healthy balance sheet and do business with you unencumbered by extraneous financial issues.
All of our scheduled tradeshows and conferences will take place as planned. And, we can now begin to implement an array of new programs that will help make our industry-leading events even better.
We are pleased that our plan is backed by accomplished investor Thomas Weisel Capital Partners. In addition to providing short term funding ? which will enable us to operate our business and meet our obligations during the proceedings ? they are providing long-term financing and strategic counsel to help the Company throughout this process and beyond. While Key3Media has been impacted by the combination of a recent global decline in the IT and networking industries, a significant amount of debt on its balance sheet, as well as a decrease in business travel and hospitality after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Key3Media is a fundamentally sound business with a strong portfolio of brands, a large high-caliber client base, and a leading market position.
We recognize that there continues to be significant demand for face-to-face marketing, and we remain committed to providing such forums. We sincerely hope this does not cause you any inconvenience and look forward to your continued support. We greatly value our relationship with you, and are committed to meeting your needs. We plan to exit the Chapter 11 process as soon as possible, with no disruption to our events. We fully intend to benefit from Chapter 11, by becoming a healthier, stronger company with a solid financial footing ? enabling us to continue to offer the world?s best information technology tradeshows and conferences.
To view a FAQ document and for additional information, visit www.key3media.com. We will continue to update you as we move through the process, but if you have questions please don?t hesitate to call your Key3Media contact directly, or reply to this email with your message and we will respond to you within 48 hours.
We look forward to continuing to work with you and are committed to giving you our best.
Sincerely,
Fredric D. Rosen
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Key3Media Group