Exhibitions and conferences organiser Hyve (HYVE) has had to scrap more events as social distancing restrictions and other lockdown uncertainties from the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic continue to wreck havoc across the industry.
This includes Shoptalk, the firm’s biggest event, which had been previously postponed from March 2020 to September 2020. Shoptalk, which last year attracted more than 8,000 attendees, hosted presentations from retailers like Wal-Mart, Amazon and Wayfair, and pulled in hundreds of retail analysts and journalists, has now been cancelled and would return to its original timeframe of March in 2021, the company said.
EVENTS GO VIRTUAL
Following the decision to cancel the Shoptalk 2020 in-person event in Las Vegas, the company said it would launch a new virtual event, which would be held online in the first quarter of 2021.
Groceryshop, previously postponed from September 2020 to March 2021 to accommodate the revised date for Shoptalk, would also now return to its original timeframe of September in 2021.
GOT INVESTORS COVERED
Hyve has 31 events covered by its insurance policies worth £62 million up to 31 October 2020. It has so far submitted claims relating to 17 of events that have been cancelled. Hyve confirmed it had so far received £7.35 million in insurance payouts covering a number of these events.
Hyve, which was formerly known as ITE, has seen its share price struggle to gain any ground since collapsing in March as the seriousness of the pandemic emerged. But the shares rallied 6% on Friday to 124.5p, valuing the business at about £330 million.
