ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. division of Clarion Events, an independent show organizing company, has acquired a stake in The NGA Show from its association owner.
The new joint venture with the National Grocers Association (NGA) is the latest partnership between Clarion UX and an industry association.
“We value the association partnerships in our event portfolio,” said Greg Topalian, CEO of Clarion UX and LeftField Media in a news release. “Our approach is focused on building strong, long lasting relationships with our association partners to provide strategic support and to fuel growth for their events.”
The partnership between the NGA and Topalian was announced in February during the 2018 NGA Show at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Clarion will bring its resources to the show next year when it takes place in San Diego. The 2017 edition of The NGA Show featured a sold-out show floor with more than 325 exhibitors and attendance of 3,400.
“Over the past five years the NGA Show has seen record-breaking growth,” said NGA President and CEO Peter Larkin in the release. “With Clarion Event’s investment in the NGA Show, we have an opportunity to increase that value proposition, particularly on the expo floor.”
No details of proposed changes to the show were revealed, but the NGA retains an unspecified ownership stake in the event and will be active in the execution.
The new partnership will be the topic of a case study presented by Topalian at this summer’s Trade Show Executive (TSE) Fastest 50 Awards & Summit in Chicago.
The NGA is not the first association that has partnered with Topalian’s team. LeftField Media teamed up with the Toy Association, Inc. in 2016 to launch Play Fair, a public event held in conjunction with the North American International Toy Fair in New York. The company also runs events organized by three state restaurant associations as well as the Halloween Industry Association.
“Our collaborative approach combined with our extensive team experience have created productive business results,” Topalian said. “We are now looking forward to delivering new opportunities for growth for NGA and their members.”
Reach Greg Topalian at (203) 550-2139 or greg@leftfieldmedia.com; Peter Larkin at (703) 516-0700 or plarkin@nationalgrocers.org
