The British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) and Sourcing City have announced that Merchandise World will now be held as a virtual exhibition.
Taking place on 9 September 2020, the original event date, Merchandise World Virtual will provide a forum to conduct meetings, networking and enable suppliers to exhibit virtually to visitors attending the event online.
David Long, owner of Sourcing City, said: “It goes without saying that we are in changing times, but what hasn’t changed is the need for suppliers and distributors to have close relationships.
“The virtual version of Merchandise World will enable ‘virtual exhibitors’ to present to ‘virtual visitors’, and the opportunity to communicate with each other will come at an important time of the year for the industry.”
Angela Wagstaff, chair of the BPMA, added: “Deciding to announce the change to Merchandise World in September to move from a physical to a virtual event has been in discussion and planning since the start of the crisis as an option we were ready to activate.
“Working closely and collaboratively with the Sourcing City team, the ‘people first’ approach has resulted in an exciting format that we believe both visitors and exhibitors will be able to interact on an entirely new level.”
More details of the virtual exhibition, together with pricing and details for exhibitors and registration information for visitors, will be released by Sourcing City in the coming weeks.
Plans for Merchandise World in January 2021 are continuing as normal.
