Messe Frankfurt South Africa Acquires Hobby-X, Premier Events Company For Arts And Crafts Supplies Sectors

Messe Frankfurt South Africa, a subsidiary of one of the world’s pioneering trade fair organizers, is proud to announce the acquisition of Hobby-X, the premier event for the hobby, arts and crafts supplies sectors in South Africa.

Hobby-X

In March 2020, Hobby-X celebrated 23 years. It is a visual, interactive, creative and entertaining event. In 2020, the event featured around 140 exhibitors across the hobby, craft and leisure industries and welcomed more than 14,500 trade and public visitors.

The first Hobby-X edition under the new owners will take place from March 4 to March 7, 2021. The sellers of the event will continue to support the efforts of Messe Frankfurt for the 2021 show.

“We are convinced that Hobby-X is a great addition to our South African events portfolio. It shows that even with the currently challenging market conditions, we do invest in the future and believe in personal encounters,” said Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board, Messe Frankfurt.

Expo Trends

Josh Low, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt South Africa, said “Expo Trends, former organizer of Hobby-X, has done an incredible job of establishing the show as a solid platform for independent business owners to find suppliers and source relevant products for their stores. For hobbyists and crafters, Hobby-X is the place to find all the equipment, supplies & ideas they need to take their hobbies to the next level.”

Josh adds, “Lockdown has seen many more people turning their hobbies into income generating opportunities as well as pastime activities and this platform satisfies that need. Messe Frankfurt is excited at the prospect of taking this event to the next level.”

Event organizer

We are delighted to be working with Messe Frankfurt and are confident in their ability to take the show to new heights"

“We are delighted to be working with Messe Frankfurt and are confident in their ability to take the show to new heights. With a strong consumer show portfolio and the experience of organizing events in related industries, we believe Messe Frankfurt to be the organizer of choice and ideal partner for this event,” said Elizabeth Morley, Chief Executive Officer of ExpoTrends.

The acquisition represents an expansion of Messe Frankfurt’s portfolio of events in the country with an additional consumer show and complements the international portfolio of Messe Frankfurt in the consumer goods segment, comprising trade events such as Creativeworld and Christmasworld, as well as the worldwide portfolio of Paperworld with events in Frankfurt, Shanghai, Dubai, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

Premier events

Josh Low adds, “We pride ourselves in putting together high standard events with a strong complement of resources across the sales, marketing and operations disciplines. We have exciting new initiatives planned for the event including a significant additional investment in marketing and content.”

“We believe that there is great potential to add new elements and solidify Hobby-X as the premier Hobby, Craft and Leisure event in the country,” he concludes.