LAS VEGAS -- Three years ago, just before the Internet bubble popped, Comdex brought 225,000 attendees here to browse more than 1 million square feet of exhibits at the nation's largest trade show for any industry.
This weekend, when the once-vaunted show opens with its 20th annual keynote address by Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder's speech may be the only recognizable remnant of the show's glory days. The 24-year-old computer technology show that once defined November in Vegas and caused room rates to skyrocket is expected this time to attract only about 50,000 people and to cover a mere 150,000 square feet at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Plus, a second event competes with Comdex in Vegas for the first time, and the newcomer's trash-talking CEO makes no secret of his aim to topple the former Goliath altogether.
"Our goal is to knock Comdex out this year," said Alan Meckler, CEO of Jupitermedia, owner of the Computer Digital Expo at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. "They've lost focus. It's basically becoming an irrelevant show. Ours is the one that will survive."
Not surprisingly, the new owners of Comdex beg to differ. Comdex's parent company, Key2Media, emerged from bankruptcy in June as MediaLive International, planning a deliberately slimmed-down show with a sharper focus on serving IT buyers by carefully vetting attendees. MediaLive chiefs readily acknowledge that the show, like the entire IT industry, lost its way amid visions of grandeur and was caught unaware when the dot-com bust came.
"We're calling this year one of the focused global IT business-to-business events," said Eric Faurot, Comdex vice president and general manager. "It's a significant repositioning. We will only have products that are relevant to the IT marketplace. You won't see car or camera companies or massage chairs. Comdex became everything for everybody, but it couldn't sustain that."
Faurot insisted that comparisons to past attendance figures are inappropriate because of the show's changed direction, and said reports of Comdex's demise are premature.
Instead, he said proof of the show's continued viability can be found in a speaker lineup that includes Gates, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNeely, PalmSource CEO David Nagel and Symantec CEO John Thompson. Plus, companies like IBM and Dell are returning after sitting out since 1997, and AT&T Wireless will exhibit for the first time.
"Let's face facts: Comdex is the top-branded trade show in the year," said Ritch Blasi, spokesman for AT&T Wireless, which will bring 50 salespeople to the show. "They still have Gates giving his song and dance on Sunday. The show still attracts those kinds of people, and now it's smaller and better-focused, which makes it attractive to us."
Still, Meckler senses a vulnerability. The Computer Digital Expo, which will be renamed in 2004 as Enterprise IT Week, is expected to attract about 5,000 attendees and take up 6,000 square feet of convention space. That's just a fraction of the size of Comdex, but Meckler is pleased with the first-year response and points to his own speaker lineup, led by SCO President and CEO Darl McBride, for credibility.
"What we've achieved is a first-year show with more than a toehold, a foothold," said Meckler, who founded the Internet World trade show in 1993 before selling it with other properties for $274 million and going on to run several other shows, including Wi-Fi Planet. "You're going to walk into the Las Vegas Convention Center to see Comdex and essentially see a flea market. No matter what they do, they're bound to fail."
More likely, according to Michael J. Hughes, research director for Tradeshow Week magazine, the two will spur a rivalry.
"There is a model in Las Vegas for a large, industry-leading show to then also foster other events," Hughes said. "Some are partners and some compete. It's not unheard-of."
That's fine with city promoters, whose only loyalty is to whoever can keep the craps tables crowded.
"Las Vegas has had a long and wonderful relationship with Comdex, but that industry is highly competitive," said Rob Powers, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "If another show brings more people to town and sells more hotel rooms, then the destination benefits."
And, while Meckler wants to bring down Comdex, Faurot insisted the competition is healthy.
"This allows us to be compared to something besides our past, and there's no comparison," he said. "They wouldn't raise an eyebrow if they were running their show any other week of the year. I'm bullish on the Comdex brand."
