Apple Says No To Boston Expo, Re-Evaluating Participation In MACWORLD New York 2003 [Updated]

by , 3:20 PM EDT, October 17th, 2002

[Update: ZDNet has posted their own story on this. That story includes comments from an unnamed IDG World Expo representative that suggest Apple has decided to forgo the Boston MACWORLD show in order to cut costs. From the ZDNet story:

Following Apple's statement, an IDG World Expo representative said the company had no indication from Apple that the Mac maker would pull out of the show if it was moved to Boston.

"Apple remains an important partner for Macworld and IDG World Expo has been in discussions with Apple officials for some time about the move back to Boston," the representative said. "Since we just heard of Apple's position, we can only speculate about their reasons, which may be driven by their financial situation."

You can read more in the full ZDNet article.]

TMO's Original Report: In a surprise announcement from Cupertino today, Apple has said it will not participate in MACWORLD Boston 2004, according to a Dow Jones news article. Furthermore, the company said that it would be re-evaluating its participation in the 2003 New York show, because the company "disagrees" with IDG's decision to move the show. From the Dow Jones article:

Apple Computer Inc. said Thursday it will not participate in Macworld Boston, when it moves from New York in July 2004.

In a prepared statement, the company said it "disagrees" with IDG World Expo's, a unit of IDG, decision to move Macworld New York to Boston, and will re-evaluate its participation in the final Macworld New York show, to be held in July 2003.

"Since IDG is no longer investing in New York, we now need to reevaluate our participation in Macworld New York 2003. Apple will continue to participate in Macworld San Francisco in January," said the company in the statement.

You can read the full report at Yahoo!'s Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

This is a tad on the stunning side. MACWORLD without Apple will be a much, much, much smaller event, and it would really hurt both the show, IDG, and even Apple. This is corporate hardball at its finest. On the face of it, this might even seem to be a "negotiating tactic," but we don't know that for sure. What we do know is that Apple is seriously tense about the idea of the show moving from New York. Statements and actions like this are not made lightly.

One factor in this could be Apple's super-expensive store in SoHo, Manhattan. Apple made a significant investment in that store, making it much larger than the other stores, and spending an enormous amount of money renovating the building, in part because of the MACWORLD New York show. The New York Expo drives considerable traffic to the SoHo store, which was most likely factored into the business plan for that location. You might not think that a week or two of sales would matter to a retail store, but you would be wrong to do so.

We would love to be a fly on the wall in the offices where these discussions are taking place.

Dow Jones Article