Marketplace Events Adds Nine Home Shows
Cleveland-based Marketplace Events, a producer of B2C shows in North America, has acquired nine home shows from Show Technology Productions of San Antonio.
This acquisition helps Marketplace Events venture into three new markets, with four shows in Austin, Texas; three shows in San Antonio; and one show in Lexington, Kentucky. The company has also acquired a show in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it already operates a home and garden show along with the Southern Christmas Show.
“These markets are of obvious strategic growth importance to Marketplace Events,” said Tom Baugh, Marketplace Events CEO. “But the real story is about trust. Our relationship with [Show Technology Productions CEO] Steve Pichichero and his sons has always been anchored in mutual candor and respect.”
He added, “This is the largest deal in our history, and it got done because the foundation of trust was formed from the start.”
Marketplace Events will open a new office in Austin to produce the shows, from which they will also run two Oklahoma City shows. Brent Keller, vice president of operations and integration for the company, will oversee the transition.
Other key players include Joe Trimble, regional sales director, who will relocate to Austin; Shelly Gepfert, vice president of marketing, who’s already there; and Laura Martin, also in Austin, who is beginning to sell the Texas shows immediately.
“We have a good crew of longtime employees who provide a solid foundation on which to build a new team to manage these shows,” said Keller. “We have a quick turnaround, acquiring these shows in April and running our first shows four months later in August, but we’ve got the right people in the right place and I am confident in our ability to grow these shows.”
Photo credit: Minneapolis Home + Garden Show
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