LONDON — CloserStill Media has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Elite Exhibitions, a leading producer of cruise ship design trade shows in the United States and Europe. The annual Cruise Ship Interiors (CSI) Design Expo will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center on June 6-7 and at ExCeL London on December 4-5.
Elite co-founders Toby Walters and Sam Murray will continue to lead the 30-person team as CEO and CCO, respectively.
CSI is “highly regarded” by the cruise industry, said Gareth Bowhill, CEO of CloserStill Media, who has big plans for the brand. “A key area of immediate collaboration is around audience development and how we can help the Elite team think about how to reach deeper into the community by leveraging our data, analytics and digital marketing resources and expertise across the group. Elite faces many of the same opportunities and challenges that CloserStill continues to face as a high-growth business, so we see plenty of opportunity to help them navigate these challenges with experience, know-how and practical tools to enable our new colleagues to stay focused and close to their market, audience community and customers.”
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“Our cultures and mindsets are closely aligned, so the collaboration has been extremely effective from day one. We feel like we are embarking on an exciting journey,” he said. “We also believe that we collectively share a culture that fosters organic growth and we plan to launch new projects together.”
Bowhill also sees a number of synergies with CSI’s existing portfolio. “CSI and its value proposition align well with our Influence Group business in the US, which focuses on design, environments and senior audiences, particularly in the hospitality and leisure sectors, with strong synergy with event brands such as Hotel Spaces, Restaurant Spaces and Retail Spaces,” he said. “CSI also shares many characteristics with our Automotive Interiors show in Europe and in the US in our Transport and Infrastructure division.”
“After looking at CloserStill for some time, it was clear that they were the perfect fit for Elite,” Walters told Exhibition World. “Sam and I have worked extremely hard to build a company that prides itself on its engaging corporate culture. This partnership will provide our team and company with the opportunity to pursue new opportunities while accelerating our growth.”
Contact Gareth Bowhill at g.bowhill@closerstillmedia.com ; Toby Walters at toby.walters@elite-exhibitions.com
Photo credit: Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo