Exhicon Events Media Solutions Ltd Management Discussions

fees to communicate appropriately about the exhibition.

India Event and Exhibition Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts:

Exhibitions and events are some of the critical enablers and triggers of the economy. With India being one of the fastest-growing economies, the government initiatives to help enterprises in different industries are expected to improve the need for events and exhibitions in the country. According to Make in India, among the chosen 190 countries, India ranked at 63^rd position in comfort of doing business rank 2020, which was 142 out of 190 in 2014, a significant improvement of 79 positions.

India has a vast consumer market, and it offers an unparalleled opportunity for enterprises to invest and expand in the country. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation and Retailers Association of India, the retail market size across India will reach USD 1,750 billion by 2026.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a harsh negative impact on various industries across the country. The event and exhibition industry was no stranger to this trend. With the lockdown announcement, the sphere of outdoor entertainment came to an absolute standstill. According to the Indian Exhibitions Industry Association (IEIA), Indias exhibition sector lost an estimated INR 3,570 crore.

India Event and Exhibition market is segmented By Type (B2B, B2C, Mixed/Hybrid), By Revenue Stream (Exhibitor Fee, Sponsorship Fee, Entrance Fee, Services), By End-User (Consumer Goods and Retail, Automotive and Transportation, Industrial, Entertainment, Real Estate and Property, Hospitality, Healthcare, and Pharmaceutical).

Key Market Trends

Exhibitions are among some of the powerful enablers of trade and economic growth globally. Various nations in Europe and Asia used exhibitions as business platforms to propel their regions economic development and investments. In line with Indias economic development, the exhibitions industry has seen rapid growth. Today, India is one of the prime exhibition destinations globally.

Event planning goes hand in hand with the marketing efforts of the organizers. In order to do so, such event organizers charge a hefty amount from participants. Inefficient marketing may lead to lower footfall which leads to lower sales for vendors that signed up for the exhibition. Such scenarios are why organizers tend to have hefty entry

Growing Adoption of Geo-cloning for Exhibition Organizers is expected to drive the Market

The geo-cloning concept is not something new, but it has been tried and tested for decades now. It is gaining traction in recent times due to the increase in connectivity and globalization. The Indian market is not new to the concept as various international events and exhibitions have been expanded to cover India as well in recent times. Geo-cloning is taking an event that works in one city or country and including it in another.

For instance, Fastener Fair USA, which is from the United States, was replicated in India and took place in Bombay Exhibition Center (NESCO), Mumbai. In 2019, the event had 5,192 visitors and

199 exhibitors, and 58% of the visitors were company owners or directors. Such successful geo-cloning events are taking the countrys industry by storm with the growing economic and active government policies.

Geo-cloning has also become a go-to strategy for various major exhibition organizers looking to expand globally. It involves less of the risk of a brand- new launch and an existing brand reputation to use as a launch pad. Statement of intent geo-cloning has proven to be a valuable tactic.

With the growing construction, industrial manufacturing, textiles & apparel, and consumer durables market in India, various international events and exhibitions are keen on entering the country to offer their products and services, and such exhibitions are the means of networking and expansion opportunities to tie up with local vendors and distributors.

In addition to this, the technological advancements in various industries, which different Indian industries lack as they still use conventional processes, are offering a prime opportunity for international vendors, as such events offer significant opportunities to attend and gain knowledge and adopt advanced solutions as part of their operations.

Further, the government support to Indian event organizers involved in geo-cloning and large international conventions in the country are positively impacting the growth. This involves guaranteed footfall from customers owing to the brand reputation and involvement of international solutions and service providers.

About Exhicon Events Media Solutions Limited

Exhicon are engaged in providing a full range of products and services for the Exhibitions, Conferences and Events industry. Our solutions include Media to Integrated Marketing Solutions, Temporary to Permanent Event Infrastructure and Management to Organizing. Over the period we have successfully developed ourselves into End to End Services provider for the Exhibition and Event Industry.

We provide turnkey events and trade fairs constructs for small to large graphs B2B and B2C fairs and events. We also help our clients in getting the requisite permissions and licenses for the events. Our clients include various state Governments, domestic associations and international clients. We also provide services to various domestic trade fair organizers. We have worked for various industries including Hospitality, F&B, NonChemical FMCG, International Trading and Healthcare.

We provide in-house infrastructure for large graph events to integrated marketing solutions. Our forte lies in effectively assimilating various project aspects and ensuring operational efficiencies and delivering optimum value for all stake holders. Our exhibitions include B2B, B2C and also hybrid events.

We also supply large span steel AC structures, octanorm systems, flooring and carpets, modular registration setup, furniture and general lighting, sound light and video, branding & signages CCTV and hardware setup, huge modular stocks of outdoor and indoor event venue construct spread over 5 cities of India.

We also make show bulletins for Distribution of Content, Design and Printing of Bulletins. We also cater to Outdoor, Print, Radio & Digital Media for Trade Fairs And Events, the services of this vertical includes Media Planning, Media buying, Creative Designing and Media releasing for Print, Electronics, Outdoors and Digital Advertising Mediums across cities in the country.

Our Business Strategy

Our key strategic initiatives are described below:

A. Increase geographical reach of existing exhibitions:

As part of growth and expansion strategy, we intend to increase geographical reach of our existing exhibitions. This will include increasing the number of cities for established exhibitions to increase the exhibitor base and will also include cross selling of established exhibitions to the same exhibitors for different location. As a part of this we also plan to strengthen our sales team to bring in new client relationships to leverage our existing group offerings. We will also establish sales offices in new places to establish our presence in new geographies. We have already established offices in Singapore, London, Shanghai, and Dubai.

B. Launch new in-house exhibitions

We intend to launch new in-house brands in new exhibitions segments for the industries such as Interior Designing, Hospitality, Real Estate, Capital Goods, Lightings, Mold/Die/Toolings, Textiles/Yarn and HVAC/Electrical products. We are focused on increasing the number of client relationships and having more number of relationship managers to service these relationships. Our strategy is to increase the number of client relationships and then leverage those client relationships into offering in a whole suite of media products. During downturn of the markets we believe that increased number of client relationships will add stability to our earnings.

C. Entering new vertical by acquisitions and move across the value chain

To remain aggressive and gain new business, we intend to acquire

Exhicon Events Media Solutions Limited

exhibition brands in tours and travel, minerals and metals, paper and packaging and pharmaceuticals ingredients industry.

We further intend to enter into forward integration by increasing our in house capabilities of stall designing and fabrication and backward integration- by owning a semi-permanent exhibition center. We want to become a full-fledged exhibition powerhouse. This forward backward integration will benefit in reducing the dependence on third party service providers, improving the quality of its service and thereby improving exhibitor and visitor experience and satisfaction.

Future Outlook

The Exhibition industry is expanding at a rapid pace across the world as exhibitions are the powerful enablers of trade and economic growth globally. Various nations in Europe and Asia used exhibitions as business platforms to propel their regions economic development and investments. In line with Indias economic development, the exhibitions industry has seen rapid growth. Today, India is one of the prime exhibition destinations globally

Exhicons intends to:

? Benefit from a dominant market position and growth opportunity in India

? Improve existing services and improve new avenues and opportunities

? Explore strategic acquisition and investment possibilities

? Build the existing technological architecture continually to strengthen the existing platform

ADEQUACY OF INTERNAL CONTROLS

The Company has suitable internal financial control mechanisms in place that are proportionate to the magnitude of its activities. Internal control systems, which include policies and procedures, are intended to assure good management of the Companys operations, asset security, and the prevention and detection of frauds and mistakes. Since they are put in place in the Company to act as a deterrent to any wrongdoings by the Company and to prevent any misbehaviour, they should be effective in providing credible financial reports to avoid frauds.

To maintain the highest levels of Internal Control, the Audit Committee reviews systems and processes on a regular basis. The Companys Auditors made no observations during the year under review, indicating inefficiency or inadequacy of such controls. Post-audit evaluations were also conducted to ensure that the findings were followed up on. The Companys Board of Directors are responsible for ensuring that necessary internal controls are in place throughout preparation and presentation of financial statements. Further, M/s. Gupta Sajankar & Associates., Chartered Accountants was appointed by the board of directors of the company to conduct the internal audit.

Human Resources

A Policy has been established by the Company which outlines important requirements that apply to all of the Companys employees. This pertains to equal opportunity, business behaviour codes, working hours, probation, internal transfers, promotions, misconduct and sexual harassment, leave, departure, business travel, and whistle-blower issues.

To address sexual harassment accusations, an Internal Complaints Committee was constituted under the Policy on Sexual Harassment Prevention. The Boards composition is subject to the Companys Policy on Board Diversity. The Nomination and Remuneration Policy, which was adopted by the board of directors applies to all the Executive and Nonexecutive Directors, Key Management Personnel, and Senior

Management Personnel.

Being a people-driven Company, the capacity to recruit, develop, motivate, retain, and effectively use highly qualified employees across companies is critical to its success. Employees are the most valuable assets, and the Company maintains people-centric policies and procedures. The Company also plans to invest in organised training and upskilling programmes on an ongoing basis. As a result, this would encourage a culture of entrepreneurship, meritocracy, and diversity.

Disclaimer

Certain statements made in this report relating to the Companys objectives, projections, outlook, estimates, etc. may constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations. Actual results may differ from such estimates or projections etc., whether expressed or implied. Several factors including but not limited to economic conditions affecting demand and supply, government regulations and taxation, input prices, exchange rate fluctuation, etc., over which the Company does not have any direct control, could make a significant difference to the Company operations. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with the Companys financial statements included herein and the notes thereto.

FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXHICON EVENTS MEDIA SOLUTIONS LIMITED

QUAIM MOHAMMAD SYED
MANAGING DIRECTOR
DIN: 03163591
PLACE: Mumbai DATE: 26.08.2023	13th Annual Report 2022-23