The online component of HourUniverse will launch in February 2021, with a physical trade show to follow from 8–21 April.
In a statement, MCH Group management explained, “This new digital universe will be a business and networking platform, as well as a space for information, content and conferences with live-streaming; a platform also designed to serve brands, permitting them to push their content such as product launches, press conferences, keynotes and seminars – live and/or interactive, commercial or PR – in their own corporate environment if they wish, with selective access.”
The trade show – which MCH Group describes as “a grand festival of networking and experiences” with an “urban tech atmosphere” – is set to take place in the same venue that once held Baselworld: Messe Basel.
While the event will retain some elements of its previous iteration – including conferences, pavilions, workshops, exhibitions and a sales area – there will be a greater emphasis on digital components.
This is reflected in the range of exhibitors, which has been extended beyond watches, jewellery and gemstones to ‘connected products’, certified pre-owned watch retailers, synthetic gemstone manufacturers, and technology companies.
MCH Group has also promised a return to the social atmosphere that once pervaded Baselworld, with daily themed breakfasts and Happy Hours, after-show parties, and an opening and closing celebration.
Notably, the organiser has addressed one of the most significant factors in the decline of Baselworld by revamping its pricing structure.
“The pricing policy has been drastically adjusted to allow [exhibitors] a particularly competitive return on investment… adapted to their business, size, scope, expectations and needs. Similarly, the accommodation offered for exhibitors and visitors alike will be at guaranteed ultra-competitive prices without precedent.”
At the time of publication, specific details of exhibition pricing and accommodation rates had not yet been announced and no exhibitors had been confirmed.
MCH Group tallies losses, Murdoch takeover hits snag
MCH Group has announced its financial results for the first half of 2020, revealing its operating income fell 55 per cent compared with the same period in 2019 largely as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
The losses were concentrated in the exhibitions division, which recorded a decline of 73 per cent compared with 2019. This division accounts for more than half of MCH Group’s revenue.
“MCH Group is expecting a decline in sales of CHF230–270 million compared with the previous year and an annual loss in the upper double-digit million range,” the report noted.
In July, the company’s Board of Directors accepted an offer from Lupa Systems – an investment firm whose founder and CEO is James Murdoch, son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch – to acquire a stake of 33.3–49 per cent for CHF10.50 per share.
» Background reading: The rise and fall of Baselworld: A complete timeline
The report stated that Lupa Systems was “prepared to invest CHF75 million in the MCH Group and help overcome the group’s precarious economic situation”.
However, despite being approved by more than 70 per cent of shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting held in August, the deal was blocked by the Swiss Takeover Board (TOB).
The TOB found that, under Swiss law, Lupa Systems would be required to make a mandatory public offer to acquire any stake larger than 33.3 per cent.
In a statement dated 28 August, Christian Jecker, head of corporate communications and investor relations MCH Group, confirmed the company was in the process of appealing the TOB decision to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
More reading:
Baselworld organiser announces replacement show for 2021; Murdoch group plans takeover
The rise and fall of Baselworld: A complete timeline
Baselworld to change name, format, and location in 2021