Dive Brief:
- Shoptalk and Groceryshop, two of the key conferences in the grocery, retail and CPG industries, announced Thursday they have been acquired by Hyve Group for $145 million. Hyve is one of the world’s largest organizers of international exhibitions and conferences.
- Shoptalk and Groceryshop founders Anil Aggarwal and Simran Aggarwal will become majority shareholders in Hyve after the acquisition is complete.
- In 2019, Shoptalk and Groceryshop had 11,500 attendees combined, including 1,000 CEOs from more than 50 countries, and more than 880 exhibits and sponsoring companies.
Dive Insight:
Hyve Group’s international reach could help Shoptalk and Groceryshop attract more attendees from around the world. The company organizes over 120 trade shows and conferences each year across 14 countries with 17 offices worldwide.
"Shoptalk and Groceryshop are the perfect fit for Hyve, consistent with our goal to acquire product-led market-leading events in large industries that have achieved significant size, secured distinct customer bases and developed compelling value propositions that hold tremendous opportunities for organic growth and international rollouts," Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, said in a statement.
Besides food and retail, Hyve's events cover multiple industries including oil and gas, transportation and logistics and fashion and beauty. As lines across industries continue to blur in retail, Hyve’s wide-ranging experience could prove helpful to the conferences.
As majority shareholders in Hyve, the Aggarwals will still have long-term involvement in how the conferences are operated. Groceryshop will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sept. 14 through 17, 2020.
In addition to high attendance in 2019, last year's Shoptalk and Groceryshop events facilitated around 11,000 double opt-in lead generation meetings between 2,000 individuals from 775 retails and brands and more than 660 sponsoring companies, according to the press release.
