TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference, Singapore: Slip, Sliding Away? Have We Reached A Tipping Point?
5 minutes read
Let me start by saying that I fully support an annual Asia Pacific exhibition and conference. But, based on this year’s event in Singapore, I also strongly believe that the TFWA Management committee should be looking to change location. We are now at a tipping point. There are a number of reasons for this which I will outline below.
But first the plus points. Singapore is a safe bet – it is extremely well organised, transportation/logistics is easy and there are many hotel choices. The biggest single advantage is the overall quality of conversations and networking that is possible across all exhibition days. A number of brands I spoke to were very happy with their week’s outcome. Everyone enjoys Singapore because it is simply less time compressed than Cannes – and that means a lot.
Sadly, there are more downsides. Singapore is obscenely expensive. You name it – hotels, taxis, restaurants. Yes, if you look you can find value, but in and around the Convention Centre everything is overpriced. Marina Bay Sands is apparently only a 4 star hotel, but charges 5 star prices. Plus plus! It also has as much soul as a lump of lead. It feels more like a railway station. One exhibitor told me that he paid 84 Singapore dollars (65 USD) for a cup of tea and a crumpet. Ooof!
As for the event itself, the opening cocktail was a great success. The food was far better than last year and there was space to breathe. It was quite obvious that numbers were less than 2024. And, from a personal perspective, it was especially good to see a touch of Turkey when you stepped outside into the ‘Enchanted Gardens’ themselves and saw a life-like Trojan horse surrounded by tulips, together with Kutahya and Iznik porcelain, Turkish carpets and music. A delightful surprise for someone who has made Turkey home for the last 8 years and surely a great memory moment for all visitors..
It was quite clear across the exhibition days that traffic was low. Buyers were in attendance, but mostly in depleted numbers across key companies compared to 2024. Shilla was not to be found. Many buyers disappeared on Wednesday. I will not dwell here on whether the conference should be removed altogether and replaced with opening the exhibition at 0900 to give buyers more time to visit more brand stands, but it’s still worth mentioning.
I actually visited over 40 stands. I do think that the brands generally did a great job creating a positive, upbeat and dynamic vibe, with excellent stand executions, digital presentations, interactivity and high impact brand showcases. Having said this, the word ‘quiet’ was frequently used by many. More worrying was the fact that, with a few notable exceptions, there were far fewer ‘walk-ons’ (unplanned meetings) experienced, Business was being conducted – some good, as already noted, others only OK. But the general ‘feel’ was fairly muted.
I do not want to dispute TFWA’s numbers, but there were clear rumblings from the floor about the number of last-minute ‘drop-in’ exhibitors. This is because, up until late in the day, there were only 169 registered exhibitors and then this number suddenly jumped to 216. I know all exhibitors have to meet key criteria, but some of these new players were arguably marginal and many of the 169 who booked early were interested to know whether there was a special price on offer for the late entrants’ inclusion. TFWA will need to address this.
The other point to register is that a number of major brands elected not to participate this year – Diageo leading the field. We all know the challenges facing the spirits and confectionery sectors. They will pass. My view is that if you genuinely support TFWA, then you should do so when times are both good and bad – you should not cherry-pick when it suits, whatever the scale of your business. Keep faith, maintain a presence – even if it means reducing the physical exhibition space you sit on. Importantly, if other major global players chose to follow suit by not attending, what kind of message does that send to buyers when key brand magnets are not to be found? The answer is obvious: buyers will simply not turn up and we’ll be on a slippery slope. And that, frankly, would be a disaster.
And what of TFWA’s role in all this? Not easy. Well, arguably a refresh to the association’s sense of purpose is needed. Let’s be inspired. Let TFWA change the narrative, showcase success stories to help rekindle interest from strays or doubters and excite and entice new actors. A fundamental change in tone is required from both its communications and marketing. At best both are currently rather staid and predictable. They need to be remarkable.
And then, of course, there were the usual rumours that gained different levels of traction. Four circulated this year. The first was that TFWA was considering this show to be slotted every other year. That’s absurd – it does not reflect good ‘face’ to the business community in the region, the exhibition will almost certainly lose traction and there is no guarantee that a similar date slot could be secured when others jump in to fill the gap. Second, that TFWA are now considering Food & Beverage as a sector to be included. Interesting, but wholly relevant? Third, that APTRA is considering holding two events across the year, the second one to be held in Hong Kong. Really? And last, but by no means least, that TFWA had agreed to an extension of this event to 2028.
The reason for this last rumour is that, at the conference on Monday, Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Trade and Industry of Singapore, said: “Three years ago, I made a personal pitch to TFWA to anchor this event here for another three years, and I think we are doing this until 2028”. Perhaps “I think we are doing this until 2028” was just a freewheeling exercise of political leverage, but it registered with everyone that a deal appeared to have been done. But this is definitely not the case – any extension has to be debated and voted on by TFWA – and this has not happened as yet.
And when it does happen, I can only ask that the TFWA Board and Management Committee take serious stock and listen carefully to what their members actually want. And that, simply put, is a dramatic reduction in their overall costs. This is just not possible if the decision is to stay in Singapore. I asked one key question to the many stands I visited: would you be happy to move to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila or Hong Kong if 30% to 50% savings could be realised? All but one answered: yes! It is an absolute no-brainer. But it is also possible. All locations offer similar facilities, all take approximately the same flight time. We all care passionately about this business, and all believe that a reset is needed.
Interestingly, in a break from tradition, there was no announcement of dates or location for next year…….
Of course it doesn’t all boil down to cost, however important a factor that is. Given that each of the above-listed locations also offer a match in terms of exhibition venues (did I forget to mention Bali?), quality of support services, choice of hotels, transportation and restaurants etc, the other critical factor is customs and their full support to ensure that everything is processed without any undue hassle or delay. This, together with cost, seem to be the two key commercial imperatives.
So the message to the TFWA from the floor is this: time has probably run out for Singapore. It’s time to take up the opportunity of seriously looking further afield for venues where, if key criteria are met, you can deliver a new location that meets your members needs. Keep engaging and communicating with them, be transparent, even enlist support from businesses outside your own resources to help advise and support.
Whatever the result, it can be a win-win for all.
