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This expat knows how to put on a show ...
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After eight years as general manager of the Shanghai New International Expo Center, the city’s largest exhibition hall, German Hans-Joerg Geduhn could easily be considered one of the most knowledgeable expats in his industry.
The center has gone from strength to strength as Shanghai repositions itself as a global trade center, but as business continues to grow, so has competition. The city is now building a national exhibition complex in the Hongqiao business zone, with 500,000 square meters of exhibition space. Part of the Hongqiao facility is set to open next year.
The new center is nearly double the size of Geduhn’s domain.
His Shanghai New International Expo Center is a 50-50 joint venture between Shanghai Lujiazui Exhibition Development Co and German Exposition Corp. The German company involves three exhibition organizers: Deutsche Messe AG, Messe Duesseldorf GmbH and Messe Muenchen GmbH.
With 17 column-free, ground-level exhibition halls, the Pudong-based center has enjoyed prominence as the premier venue for events such as the Shanghai Auto Show and Bauma, a leading trade fair for construction machinery.
Geduhn, who first visited China in 1984 on a business trip, is fluent in Mandarin. Previously, he was chief representative in China for carmaker BMW and for chemicals giant Hoechst. His Chinese name, Dong Hanyou, means “friend of the Chinese.”
A good friend indeed. In 2013, Geduhn received a Magnolia Silver Award from the Shanghai government, citing his contributions to the city’s economic and social development.
Geduhn sat down with Shanghai Daily to talk about the future of the exhibition industry in Shanghai and China.
Q: How is the Shanghai New International Expo Center doing this year in terms of sold area?
A: We have sold 5.75 million square meters of exhibition area in 2013, compared with 5.4 million last year. But I would also like to talk about turnover rate — or how many times the exhibition space is rented — because this measure is more commonly discussed in the industry. We had an all-time high of 32 in 2011, and this year we have 30. That’s enough to make our center the world’s busiest exhibition venue. By comparison, the turnover rate for some leading exhibition venues in Germany is 14 to 16.
Q: So that shows Shanghai’s attractiveness as a major trade hub and exhibition center. What about competition from other parts of China?
A: I have received many delegations from other provinces, very high-level delegations, usually led by a vice mayor, who want to learn about our exhibition experience. I initially thought they just wanted to listen, but to my surprise, they began building exhibition halls when they got back. For them, the traditional idea is that every city needs the exhibition industry, with modern, super big and beautiful exhibition halls.
But I don’t agree. Shanghai is already an established, internationally recognized center for exhibition and business. We have the facilities, the geographic advantages and the connections with the outside world. I’m not saying other cities should not build exhibition halls, but I am saying that we should not have too many, too big.
Q: So what about competition inside the city? We know Shanghai is building another world-class exhibition complex in Hongqiao that will be larger in space than your center and nearer to the Hongqiao airport and railway station.
A: Of course, we have some concerns. And we can see that we are going to lose some business when they get started. It’s quite normal. We are okay with that. Business is still expanding. I think the scenario before long, like by 2015 or 2016, will be that both the Hongqiao expo center and ours will find themselves very busy.
Q: Will the two exhibition venues coordinate with each other?
A: We know each other. We both are backed by the Shanghai government, so we are relatives. We need to cooperate and coordinate. The last thing I’d like to see is the two venues holding the same kind of exhibition at the same time. That should be definitely avoided because it will annoy exhibitors.
Q: Are you suggesting that the two exhibition venues will each develop their own focus in the future to avoid direct competition?
A: That’s one solution, but would be difficult to carry out. That will mainly be up to exhibition organizers. Still, our center may be more suitable for some heavy-equipment exhibitions because all of our halls are ground level. The Hongqiao complex has some double-story halls, which have height limits.
Q: What’s the future development plan for your center?
A: In terms of infrastructure construction, we are basically done. We don’t have plans to add halls, but will build some bridges connecting halls.
We will continue to train our employees, who I believe are already in the top class in China and even in Asia. Many of them have worked for us for 10 years and are very professional.
Q: Anything interesting you are hearing from exhibitors?
A: I often walk down to the halls to talk to them. Eight years ago, I would always hear someone saying they didn’t meet the customers they sought. One exhibitor once told me that, after talking to a visitor for half an hour, he found out that the guy wasn’t interested in buying their products but rather wanted to sell his own.
I don’t think that kind of thing would happen today because the shows are taking mainly professional and targeted visitors with years of development.
With the high quality of visitors, we don’t fear a decline in the number of visitors, if there ever was any.
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