Cleveland Medical Mart Presentation
by Christopher Kennedy
Introduction
What I hope to do today is to give you a brief introduction to our company, to give you a sense of how The Merchandise Mart works
)
and how our pioneering efforts to link marts and tradeshows
)
have produced phenomenally successful markets in each of the cities in which we operate.
)
And then I would like to lay out our vision for the Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility. By the end of the presentation, I hope you will understand what we can do together.
)
We want to provide a vision for the future of Cleveland, a vision that is predicated on exploiting Cleveland's existing leadership role in the medical field.
)
We want share specific plans to create with you - from its inception to its great success - a medical mart and tradeshow facility custom-built to attract 571 trade shows and numerous medical conferences which occur each year in the United States in fields related to medical technology.
)
We want to explain how we at the Merchandise Mart can accelerate all of these efforts to create a tradeshow economy here in Cleveland by relocating some of our own shows to Cleveland.
)
We are a dominant tradeshow producer of everything from art and antiques to
)
concrete and ceiling systems,
)
from bridal gowns and children's wear
)
to desks and chairs.
)
We are prepared to launch our own tradeshows that we run in other parts of the United States here in Cleveland, and we are prepared to do it quickly.
)
Thus, we can help jump-start Cleveland's rebirth as a tradeshow town.
)
In short, we want to join you in remaking one of America's great cities.
)
Introduction to MMPI
I am president of a company called Merchandise Mart Properties.
)
We're a property management firm that specializes in developing, owning and managing
)
market buildings occupied by
)
wholesale showrooms and
)
tradeshow facilities.
)
In Chicago, we own and manage The Merchandise Mart and the Chicago Apparel Center.
In The Merchandise Mart we have 5 different industries:
)
In the Design Center business,
)
our major tenants are manufacturers
)
and distributors of home furniture,
)
and we attract to the building interior designers and architects from all over the U.S.
)
In the Contract Furniture industry, we are home to showrooms for major office manufacturers like
)
Steelcase,
)
Herman Miller and
)
Haworth.
)
During our major tradeshow NeoCon, we attract to the building over 50,000 architects and designers - their important clients including all of the major architectural firms, design firms and end users such as
)
IBM, Merrill Lynch and governmental agencies like the Department of Defense.
)
In the Gift industry, we are home to major manufacturers and importers like
)
Aldik Artifical Flowers and
)
Vera Bradley.
)
During our major markets in January and July, we attract to the building major retailers like
)
Crate & Barrel, Hallmark, Party Plus and thousands of other mom-and-pop retailers from all over our trading region which encompasses most of the Midwest.
)
In the Casual Furniture industry, our tenants include major manufacturers such as
)
Brown Jordan,
)
Agio, and
)
Tropitone.
)
Each year we run the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in September where retailers from around the country shop for next year's stock.
)
These retailers include Fortunoff in New York, Robb & Stuckey in the southeast, and L.L. Bean from Maine.
)
At LuxeHome we host showrooms from major kitchen cabinet and plumbing manufacturers including companies like
)
Snaidero,
)
Waterworks and
)
Kohler.
)
This is the only showroom-based industry directly marketed to consumers, who are welcome to shop here,
)
and we also boast strong traffic from designers, architects, home builders and plumbing contractors -- just about everyone involved in construction and renovation.
)
In L.A., we have owned and operated the L.A. Mart since the year 2000, during which it has undergone a tremendous renaissance.
)
We also manage The Washington Design Center and the Federal Center Southwest Building in the nation's Capitol,
)
and the Boston Design Center in Massachusetts.
)
In New York City we manage 7 West 34th Street, which is the New York Gift Mart,
)
and the Architects and Designers Building on 58th Street, which is filled with everything from kitchen cabinets to plumbing products.
)
In High Point we manage the sprawling Market Square Complex, the Furniture Plaza building, the National Furniture Mart, and the Hamilton Market building.
)
Within the different buildings, we have almost 2,000 tenants,
)
most of which are manufacturers and distributors of different types of products.
)
In addition to managing the buildings,
)
MMPI runs trade shows, conventions,
)
educational programs
)
and special events to try to bring to the buildings
)
the types of clients our tenants want to meet.
)
Each year we run scores of tradeshows within our buildings like The National Bridal Market
)
and 5 Women's and Children's shows.
)
We run one of the most important shows for the men's wear apparel industry, the Chicago Men's Wear Collective, twice a year.
)
We run the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market,
)
and we lead the organization of the largest furniture show in the world in High Point, North Carolina.
)
We have run dozens of free-standing shows outside of our buildings all over North America as well, including the Interior Design Show in Toronto,
)
NeoCon Xpress in Los Angeles,
)
NeoCon East in Baltimore,
)
the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City,
)
the massive One of A Kind Show series of events taking place in Toronto and Chicago, the largest of which attracts over 150,000 attendees,
)
and we run the International Franchising & Licensing Expo, the industry-defining event for that giant slice of the American economy.
)
We run the largest real estate and construction tradeshows in Canada and the western United States, which involve more than 30 separate events including Concrete Canada,
)
Homebuilder & Renovator Expo
)
RoofTech,
)
the British Columbia Construction Show,
)
Infrastructure 2006,
)
the Property Management Expo in Toronto,
)
and Design Trends in Ontario.
)
We also run Canada's most important real estate show, Construct Canada, which covers every aspect of real estate construction.
)
We run dozens of tradeshows and hundreds of events attracting almost a million visitors a year.
)
Integrated Facility
Over a decade ago, MMPI pioneered the concept of an integrated market center facility,
)
which incorporates both permanent year-round showrooms and temporary exhibit space. This model combines a traditional merchandise mart with a traditional tradeshow facility.
)
This combination is incredibly powerful and symbiotic. The mart itself is made more successful by virtue of its proximity to the tradeshows,
)
and the tradeshows generate greater attendance because visitors are attracted to the ability to see the flagship showrooms of the major manufacturers and industry pioneers.
)
We have replicated this model around the country in Chicago,
)
High Point
)
and Los Angeles.
)
The combination of permanent showrooms coupled with temporary exhibit space provides opportunities for an industry's smallest companies to exhibit alongside an industry's largest companies.
)
Events incorporating permanent showrooms and temporary exhibit space are fully comprehensive and include all aspects of the marketplace.
)
As a result, attendees are more compelled to attend an event that is comprehensive than one where there are gaps in the exhibitor base, so attendance at a tradeshow here in the combined facility soars.
)
Over the last decade, MMPI has legitimized this concept by producing hundreds of shows in a combined facility in dozens of industries.
)
Experienced Management Team
Our experienced management team has developed and operated tradeshow facilities around the country.
)
Our team has built 6 large tradeshow halls in Chicago alone.
)
We built the 400,000 square foot Market Suites facility on the 7th and 8th floors of The Mart which is used over 20 times a year.
)
We built the 100,000 square foot tradeshow facility on the 2nd floor of the Chicago Apparel Center.
)
We built the 50,000 square foot Market Suites facility in downtown Los Angeles
)
and the 750,000 square foot Market Suites facility in High Point, North Carolina.
)
Today, we run 17 properties comprising just under 10 million square feet and we have offices located in 8 different cities.
)
We have run events in every major tradeshow hall in North America.
)
Evolving Company
MMPI has long roots.
)
It was the company set up to manage the Kennedy family's portfolio of real estate assets
)
which was largely concentrated in the showroom business.
)
By 1998, we had developed a large organizational structure and we had what we believed to be the finest management team of its kind in the country.
)
At that time, we thought that there was an opportunity to consolidate the ownership of this management-intensive niche of the real estate business.
)
Our senior management team looked for a company which might share our vision and enhance our efforts.
)
Vornado's aggressive style, Vornado's massive size, their billion-dollar line of credit which would be made available to MMPI for acquisitions and new projects, and their leadership in the form of CEO Steve Roth and President Mike Fascitelli made them ideal partners.
)
Since 1998, we have expanded Merchandise Mart Properties time and again.
)
Vornado Realty Trust
Vornado, our parent company, is the largest commercial office real estate investment trust in the United States today with a total market capitalization of about $30 billion.
)
Vornado owns approximately 86 million square feet of property across the United States.
)
It is organized into four primary sectors. Let me explain the three which you have not heard about yet.
)
New York Office Division
The New York Office Division is the former Mendik Company. In New York, we are one of the largest private landlords in Manhattan.
)
Our buildings are located in the most desirable neighborhoods.
)
Our buildings include:
- Penn Plaza,
- 595 Madison Avenue,
- the Bloomberg Tower,
)
- the U.N. Plaza, where my family, the Robert Kennedys, had their New York home,
- the Stock Exchange
)
We own the massive Hotel Pennsylvania, which has been undergoing a tremendous renovation.
)
We're also in the midst of a pending $5 billion redevelopment of Farley Post Office and the existing Penn Central Station.
)
Washington Office
The Washington Office Division is the Vornado/Charles E. Smith Realty Company. In Washington, D.C. we own a series of high-profile buildings including most of Crystal City, and we are one of the largest landlords to the Federal Government.
)
Our work in Washington is closely allied to governmental agencies. We are very attuned to the needs of a public/private partnership in which we bridge the mandate of public service with the realities of the marketplace.
)
Retail
The Retail Division is where Vornado finds its roots. In the retail business, we have a massive collection of regional malls, strip centers and New York City retail.
)
We're one of the fastest growing street retail firms in the United States.
)
We have a relationship with every major retailer in this country, and our access to these retailers ensures that each of our projects is supported with retail amenities that are best-in-class.
)
In early 2007, Vornado and our partners were very involved in a bidding war to buy Equity Office Properties,
)
which at the time was the largest office real estate investment trust.
)
Our negotiations and bids exceeding $40 billion are another indication of our financial wherewithal and should give you confidence in our ability to execute our plan.
)
Project Overview
In early 2006, we received a call which left us all very excited. Dr. Toby Cosgrove, the world-renowned heart surgeon and dynamic leader of the Cleveland Clinic,
)
contacted us in the hopes of presenting an idea which was, in short, the
)
Cleveland Medical Mart.
)
Our initial reaction was enthusiastic and supportive. We recognize that Cleveland enjoys a tremendous leadership position by virtue of the fact that it is home to the Cleveland Clinic,
)
Case Western Reserve,
)
and University Hospitals.
)
It is also home to the thousands of supporting companies which have grown up around these institutions. It is, in many ways, the medical capital of the United States.
)
We think a medical mart is a great idea, and marts themselves are great ideas.
)
Marts Around the Country
Marts exist in every major city in the United States.
)
In Chicago we run the Merchandise Mart and the Chicago Apparel Center,
)
but Chicago also spawned the American Furniture Mart as well as the world-famous Jewelry Mart on Wabash.
)
In New York City we run the New York Gift Mart,
)
but New York City is also home to the New York Textiles Mart,
)
the New York Furniture Mart,
)
the New York Tabletop Mart, and in many ways
)
the Empire State Building functioned as a mart for the American Shoe Industry.
)
In Boston we run the Boston Design Center, but Boston is also home to the Boston Gift Mart,
)
Atlanta is home to the Atlanta Gift Mart,
)
Miami is home to the Miami Merchandise Mart,
)
Dallas is home to the Dallas Gift Mart,
)
In Los Angeles we run the L.A. Mart.
)
Los Angeles is also home to the Los Angeles Apparel Mart,
)
the California Market Center and the Pacific Design Center
)
San Francisco is home to the San Francisco Furniture Mart,
)
the San Francisco Apparel Mart,
)
and the San Francisco Gift & Jewelry Mart,
)
In High Point we manage 6 different buildings, but that town is also home to over 12 million square feet of mart space,
)
Tupelo, Mississippi is home to 6 marts dedicated to home furnishings,
)
and there are marts in Minneapolis,
)
in Las Vegas,
)
in Denver
)
and it is time that a big mart came to Cleveland.
)
We Are the Largest
We are the largest mart owner and manager in the country. We are also one of the largest private landlords in the world.
)
We are the only company in the U.S. which runs marts and free-standing tradeshows in multiple cities and services multiple industries.
We are the only company in the country which can promise to build and manage a tradeshow facility, to bring our own tradeshows to it, and to create a medical mart which has the track record of success to back up such a commitment.
)
We have vast experience in many industries. We have been practicing for this moment. We are ready to take up the challenge.
)
Transition
We believe, however, that a medical mart is simply the tip of the iceberg as to what should be developed in Cleveland.
)
We believe Cleveland should set a much higher goal for itself and a much loftier objective.
)
We think Cleveland should become the tradeshow capital of the world for medical tradeshows.
Not only do we think this is possible, but we think it is critically important for the success of the medical mart, and we think that the medical mart is critically important for the success of the tradeshow concept.
)
Mission
We understand the economic benefit of the tradeshow industry.
We know that tradeshows can become great economic engines that can fuel a city's growth, that can turn around a city's downtown, and that can help define a city's future.
)
We are here to pledge our company's support for the city and the county's mission
)
to help fulfill Cleveland's potential related to economic development.
)
Like many other companies, we want to be good corporate citizens.
)
Wherever we work, we want to work with others who want a safe and vibrant downtown,
)
lower taxes,
)
an expanding economy
)
and a growing tax base.
)
We want to help with job training and adult vocational programs.
)
We want to help diversify the economy in the city by exposing Cleveland to industry executives from leading firms like biotechnology,
)
pharmaceuticals
)
and medical systems that may choose Cleveland to relocate or to expand.
)
We want to support good schools,
)
great hospitals
)
and research labs,
)
and see leading colleges and educational institutions grow.
)
We want to create an economic engine that will benefit everyone in the City of Cleveland.
)
We want to be a part of a city where a construction worker can make $50,000 a year,
)
where laborers and tradesmen can send their kids to college,
)
afford to live in a home they own
)
and share in the American dream.
)
We believe the tradeshow industry is critical to these dreams and acts as a huge lever to help us accomplish these goals.
)
Every time we attract a tourist to this town or an attendee to a convention, we make a contribution to strengthen the social fabric of our city.
)
Our visitors and exhibitors stay in hotels
)
and eat in restaurants which provide entry level jobs to low-skilled workers at a living wage.
)
These attendees to our tradeshows support cultural institutions such as the Cleveland Symphony,
)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
)
and The Cleveland Institute of Art.
)
They fly into our airports,
)
ride in our cabs,
)
buy gifts and mementos while they are here visiting,
)
and many will return later with family and friends.
)
The shows that we want to run in Cleveland will help every strata of the economic spectrum.
)
From the wealthiest owners of hotels and resorts to entry-level workers just starting off,
)
the economic boost we want to provide will help them all.
)
Many of the companies who exhibit at an event will look upon a tradeshow as an entry point into the Cleveland market.
)
Tradeshows are incubators.
)
If a company does well in a tradeshow here, they will often grow into office users, employers and taxpayers.
)
The shows we want to attract, with their millions of dollars of economic impact, contribute to a vibrant, robust, and diversified economic base.
)
There is no single solution to the problems facing great American cities. But if there were, that single solution would look an awful lot like a healthy convention and tourism industry.
)
Tradeshow Challenges
There are over 12,000 tradeshows produced in the United States each year. Most of them are owned by associations of manufacturers or professional societies.
It is a large and lucrative market, and every major city in the United States is going after it.
)
The challenge with attracting many of these shows is that they are, in large part, membership organizations whose show location decisions are driven by their interest in providing their memberships with a destination-quality attraction.
)
These attendees want to be in places with warm weather,
)
terrific amusements
)
and great attractions.
)
Cleveland's Assets
Cleveland frankly lacks the assets typical of such a destination city. The weather is not warm, it lacks sandy beachfronts, it lacks a great entertainment district and there is no destination cache for Cleveland as yet.
)
Additionally, the existing tradeshow hall in Cleveland is outmoded,
)
outdated,
)
unattractive,
)
and very unmarketable.
)
Medical Industry Overview
Instead of focusing on a broad market of 12,000 tradeshows, we believe it will be much more productive for Cleveland to focus on dominating a subset of the market related to medical tradeshows.
)
In the medical industry, there are 571 medical tradeshows and many medical conferences held annually in the United States.
)
These shows range widely in size, location, frequency of production, and in the niche in which they conduct their business.
)
Most annual tradeshows change their venue each year. One year their tradeshow may be held in Chicago, another year in Atlanta, and then they may move to Las Vegas or New York City.
)
The American Society of Clinical Oncology, for example, held their annual tradeshow -
- in New Orleans in 2004,
- in Orlando in 2005,
- Atlanta in 2006,
- and they will hold it in Chicago in 2007.
)
If Cleveland pursued each of these 571 tradeshows to simply produce one annual tradeshow in Cleveland over a 10-year period, the end result would be 57 medical tradeshows a year, approximately one each week in Cleveland. That would be an unprecedented success for a new tradeshow facility.
)
The medical tradeshow market is in the sweet spot for Cleveland.
)
We know that rather than compete for every show in the country, we should focus on a small niche of medical-related events where we have a demonstrated competitive advantage.
)
The goal of every tradeshow is for attendees to become better educated in their chosen fields,
)
to help the attendees get exposure to new products, and for manufacturers to find an efficient way in which to see their customers and launch new products.
)
In the end, a better opportunity to conduct business at a tradeshow will ultimately trump a destination location.
)
We believe that a great offset to the lack of destination quality in Cleveland is to provide a climate where manufacturers and their customers can be more productive and conduct their business in a much more meaningful way. We think this for three main reasons.
)
The Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals are tremendous attractions for both manufacturers and attendees.
)
For manufacturers, these institutions represent the potential for a major and significant customer.
Manufacturers gaining exposure to the Cleveland Clinic will provide a serious competitive advantage.
)
The Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals are also home to the most-recent installations of leading-edge technology. Many manufacturers will want to host an event in Cleveland to show prospective clients a working installation of their latest and greatest products.
)
In analyzing the 571 tradeshows, we recognized the important role that the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and other major medical assets in Cleveland can play through personal leadership.
It is fairly easy to quickly identify 15 tradeshows in which Cleveland Clinic executives sit on the board of directors of associations, and are therefore in a great position to influence the location decisions for these associations' annual tradeshow.
)
Leveraging these personal relationships is a bread-and-butter part of our day-to-day business at MMPI. We can convert these personal assets to a competitive advantage. By working with these individuals, we can help leverage their leadership position into greater business for the City of Cleveland.
)
As hall managers, we at MMPI believe we can play an important role in bringing together all of Cleveland's major assets including the leadership of the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve, University Hospitals,
)
and the entire hospitality industry, including all of the major restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, to influence where these associations host their events.
)
MMPI has always been active in the convention bureaus in the cities in which we operate.
Three of our executives have served as chairman of the Chicago Bureau, one of the largest in the world, and a fourth was on his way until he was plucked to be the Chief Operating Officer for the Chicago Chamber of Commerce.
)
When I was chairman of the Chicago Bureau, we secured long-term commitments from the largest medical tradeshow in America, the Radiological Society of North America,
)
and the Pittsburg Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, better known as PITTCON.
We know that - by combining the strength of personal relationships and the totality of a city's offerings - we can accomplish almost anything.
)
Efficient Exhibiting
We believe that, by combining the new tradeshow facility with a medical mart, we can create a much more efficient way for manufacturers to exhibit in Cleveland.
)
In analyzing the 571 medical tradeshows across the Untied States, we have found that there are many manufacturers who exhibit repeatedly in many of these shows.
For example, any given major medical manufacturer may exhibit in 25 different medical tradeshows a year.
)
What we are suggesting with the medical mart is a much more efficient way for a large medical products manufacturer to show their products to their customers.
)
Co-locating the medical mart with a tradeshow hall would allow a major medical products manufacturer
)
to secure permanent space and to participate in each of these tradeshows, and dozens more.
)
Other smaller and mid-sized companies - who may be very niche-oriented and unable to justify the costs of securing a medical mart showroom- would then be able to exhibit in a temporary space.
)
By having all of these companies in the same place, it will create a critical mass which will attract attendees from all around the country. This is the business that we pioneered. It is a successful formula which we have proved time and again.
)
The driver to attract new medical tradeshows to Cleveland will be three-fold.
The first driver is Cleveland's medical community, which is the single largest customer for medical products manufacturers in the entire United States.
)
Participating in tradeshows at the front door of the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals puts medical manufacturers in an advantaged position to cultivate great relationships with the largest medical products customers in the United States.
)
The second driver is aimed at the large medical product manufacturers.
)
These manufacturers will stand to save tens of millions of dollars annually in their tradeshow exhibiting costs if they secure a showroom in a Cleveland-based medical mart.
)
Positioning themselves there would allow them to participate in multiple healthcare tradeshows in Cleveland out of a single showroom.
)
The third driver is that, with a medical hub in place, traveling shows will want to collocate with the medical mart in Cleveland because their attendees will be able
)
to see the voluminous showrooms of major manufactures who heretofore will not have participated in those smaller tradeshows and events.
)
Objectives
We believe that the goal for Cleveland should not simply be to develop a medical mart, but instead should be to create a destination which supports 50 tradeshows a year.
)
In doing this, we can create an economic engine which will revitalize Cleveland,
)
change its reputation,
)
rebrand its image,
)
support its rebirth,
)
and will ultimately serve to attract and retain the intellectual capital, the minds of the great researchers and medical leaders which will be proud to call Cleveland home.
)
Most importantly, the Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals will foster a whole new self-sustaining industry of entrepreneurs,
)
who feed off the new ideas and innovative products conceived by the doctors, scientists, researchers and clinicians who will be part of this.
)
A generation ago, Cleveland produced more patents than any city in the United States. We want to restore Cleveland to its rightful place the leader of innovation and design.
)
New products fuel new jobs, and new jobs fuel everything
)
from an expanding tax base to new homes to
)
retail development and urban renaissance -
)
but it all starts with new product ideas.
)
This new concept of an integrated medical mart and tradeshow facility will bring more new product introductions to Cleveland than any other idea -- period.
)
Hopes
We believe the objectives for the City of Cleveland should include:
- bringing high-economic-impact visitors to the City
- increasing revenue for hotels, restaurants and retailers
- focusing the world's attention on Cleveland as the cutting-edge leader of medical innovations
- attracting and retaining the best and brightest workforce in the nation, and
- creating an atmosphere for companies in the medical industry to relocate to Cleveland, fostering growth for the City
)
We believe that for the Cleveland medical community the objectives should include:
- the creation of a world-class medical mart consistent with the quality, scale and scope of Cleveland's significant medical institutions
- increasing the awareness and visibility Cleveland's medical institutions both nationally and internationally
- use of Cleveland's state-of-the-art medical facilities as a showcase to demonstrate products in an applied setting
- acting as a beta test site for testing new products
- reinforcing Cleveland's medical leadership position, and
- Providing incentives to associations and other third parties to offer continuing education for Cleveland's medical institutions staff and doctors at a convenient location.
)
Market Research
Since we received the call from Dr. Cosgrove, we have been fully focused on identifying ways to develop the Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility.
)
We began with research.
)
We spoke with potential users including major manufacturers and tradeshow organizers.
)
We conducted a series of indepth interviews.
)
We cast our net wide because we wanted input from as many people as possible.
)
Their comments were insightful and consistent. It is clear that Cleveland and its medical assets - if packaged correctly - can be a tremendous competitive advantage to attracting shows to this town.
)
The Existing Hall
The existing tradeshow hall is the greatest challenge to our potential success.
)
You don't need to read Tradeshow Week or Expo Magazine. You don't need to travel to Boston or Washington, D.C. or Chicago to interview association executives.
)
All you need to do is read the Cleveland Plain Dealer to get a good sense of what the industry thinks about the facility.
)
- It is “resonantly empty”
- It is “virtually unused”
- It has “Too many columns, too-low ceilings, and too few loading docks”
- “At least a dozen groups considered Cleveland for meetings in 2005 thru 2009, but cited the center as their main reason for going elsewhere. The potential business represented nearly 44,000 hotel room nights and an economic impact of $36 million, according to the visitors bureau.”
)
- “Many more groups never consider Cleveland because they don't like the center”,
- “A PricewaterhouseCoopers report completed last year for the Convention Facilities Authority predicts that the number of conventions and trade shows could decline by 50 percent by 2008 if the city doesn't build a more competitive center.“
)
Specifically, the facility is terribly outdated and makes it difficult for tradeshow managers to position their events as cutting-edge and current.
)
The column spacing is way too close together, and the size of the columns is ridiculously large.
)
Additionally, the facility lacks adequate meeting rooms and conference space, making it a nonstarter for most tradeshows that offer seminars as a mainstay of their program.
)
The fact that the facility is below-grade is nearly unprecedented in the tradeshow industry.
)
New Facility
We would like to create a combined facility that would accommodate both tradeshows and showrooms. A facility of this size would accommodate most medical tradeshows that are currently produced in the U.S.
)
The facility would feature flexible meeting rooms of varying sizes. This will allow us to accommodate concurrent seminars, panel discussions and keynote sessions which are often the core offering of many conference-oriented medical tradeshows.
)
The facility would be flexible in its layout in order to accommodate banquets, large meetings, and small and medium and large tradeshows.
)
It would feature world-class architecture in order to compete with tradeshow facilities throughout North America, and to reflect the architectural leadership of the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve.
)
The facility would have dedicated loading docks that are not isolated from - but instead are adjacent to - the show floor in order to provide the most efficient and economic move-in and move-out possible.
The dock space would be easily accessible from the surface roads and would allow trucks to queue easily.
)
Siting Issues
As we further explored the potential in Cleveland, we brought on experts to review potential sites.
)
Our architectural team, which has been involved in tradeshow and convention facilities around the United States, helped distill various options.
)
It is clear to us that, in going through a site selection procedure, the proximity to the Cleveland's major medical institutions is critically important, and easy transportation to and from its facilities is an important consideration.
)
We know that attendees want a cheap and fast and easy route to the airport,
)
as it is our hope that the bulk of the high-impact attendees will be coming from around the country.
)
We also recognize the need for easy access to the State's highway system to facilitate attendance from the all-important drive-in market which is part of any major tradeshow.
)
The transportation connection is also important in considering the needs of the exhibitors for whom time is money.
)
Therefore, moving their trucks loaded with exhibit products easily to and from the facility becomes critical.
)
We considered issues related to proximity to the hospitality infrastructure including
)
hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as locations for private special events.
Most importantly, we looked at the potential for economic impact.
)
All of these issues were, of course, considered against the backdrop of our goal of creating an integrated showroom and tradeshow facility which, when combined, would become the Cleveland Medical Mart.
)
We considered waterfront locations and various brown-field sites in and around the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals.
)
We examined the current location of the convention facility and we looked at the heart of downtown.
)
It became clear to us that a downtown location fulfills all of the best hopes and dreams for the medical mart.
)
It probably has the best transportation infrastructure between the airport and downtown of any city in the U.S.
)
It gives us access to older building stock, in the same vintage as The Merchandise Mart, which easily can be converted to showroom use to create an integrated facility.
)
The ever-improving connection between downtown and the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve and University Hospitals ensures our ability to quickly move attendees from the conference and tradeshow facilities directly to the working examples available to us in the heart of the Cleveland medical community.
)
Finally, we have the chance to reinforce the renaissance of Cleveland's downtown core and preserve the real estate tax base, which is so critical to the City's future.
)
Economic Benefits
If successful in creating a medical tradeshow hub in Cleveland, the economic benefits to the City would be tremendous.
)
Let's say that there would be 50 medical tradeshows a year coming to Cleveland.
)
These visitors are generally well-heeled medical professionals who during the tradeshow are looking to have some fun and get to know a city.
)
Let's say that each visitor spends $1,100 – a number well supported in the tradeshow industry research - on hotels, restaurants and transportation to participate in these shows. The direct economic impact would be millions of dollars a year.
)
In calculating the economic impact to the City, we need to look at the ripple effect of these dollars to waitresses and waiters, taxi cab drivers, bellmen and others in the support economy.
Those workers are highly likely to convert their income to spending, creating a second wave of economic impact immediately after every show.
)
Standard economic models which are used in every city to measure these things generally apply a multiplier of two-to-three times to accurately measure the total economic impact.
)
If we add the huge economic impact from the actual tradeshow production, including the employment of hundreds of electricians, carpenters and painters, and the ongoing management of the medical mart,
)
we can realistically project a new economic engine for the City of Cleveland.
)
To support this new part of Cleveland's economy, entrepreneurs and developers will respond with a whole host of new restaurants, hotels, entertainment complexes, and the infrastructure necessary to meet market demand by the thousands of new visitors to Cleveland.
)
What we want Cleveland to do
In order to accomplish all of this:
- we need great cooperation from Cleveland and the County
)
- we need you to act on your hopes of creating a new tradeshow facility, and
- we need you to assign a team which can help spearhead this effort along with us.
)
Our team will work on this project from the beginning to its end on all aspects of the facility,
)
from its design and construction
)
to its ongoing management,
)
to its leasing and sales. We believe that anything less than a fully integrated effort will result in failure.
)
We need to understand that the City and the County are committed to this concept and are prepared to move forward.
)
What MMPI is Doing
To date, we have spent roughly a half million dollars in analyzing the concept of the Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility. We have been determining what location for such a facility would be optimal,
)
investigating the medical tradeshow industry, and understanding the city.
)
In addition to all of us who have regularly been visiting Cleveland, we've been using other MMPI resources like Walt Goldsby, one of our Senior Executives, who formerly ran Med Trade, the second largest medical tradeshow in the U.S., to ensure that we properly position all that we do.
)
We are prepared to spend millions of dollars more to help bring this concept to reality.
)
We will hire the appropriate staff who know the medical marketplace, so that we can effectively begin
)
recruiting medical manufacturers and tradeshows to Cleveland.
)
In fact, Bob Baxter, a Sr. Executive with Korn Ferry, has met with a series of candidates for a leadership position at the Medical Mart.
)
Korn Ferry, like other executive search firms, operate on a retainer fee basis. Their presence represents a major commitment from us and our confidence that we will be moving forward.
)
We will exhibit at all of the major tradeshows for associations and exhibitors, and we will visit the major prospects individually.
)
In fact, we already have prior relationships with healthcare manufacturers of a range of products
)
covering everything from the floor
)
to the ceiling and everything in between.
)
In terms of flooring, our exhibitors are companies like Interface,
)
Milliken
)
and Shaw.
)
We have relationships with ceiling manufacturers like Armstrong, among others.
)
Our current roster of exhibitors also includes industry leaders such as Nurture by Steelcase,
)
Herman Miller,
)
IOA Healthcare Furniture,
)
KI and
)
Nemschoff.
)
We have been in ongoing discussions with a local developer on
)
a downtown location which we believe may be one of the optimal locations for the combined Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility in Cleveland.
)
If we are chosen as the designated developer, we will further investigate the potential to convert the existing stock more quickly.
)
We have expended great resources in exploring infrastructure and in researching showroom and tradeshow hall layouts.
)
We may be able to jump-start all of this by creating in a existing building a conference center and small exhibition hall which would
)
attract small shows and large conferences. This would allow us to forgo the construction of the conference space in the new tradeshow hall and would, therefore, lead to massive cost savings.
)
We need to go to the marketplace to bring the smaller conferences here.
By leasing an existing building, we may be able to save the county millions of dollars in capital improvement and essentially subsidize the development of the integrated facility with millions of dollars of private capital.
)
Our strategy for success includes:
- adding $1 million a year in payroll costs for the next five years to hire medical market experts to develop the concept
- working with Cleveland's medical community and others to attract shows
- committing $2 million in pre-construction expense to hire architects, engineers and master planners
- opening an office in Cleveland staffed by senior executives who will manage this project as well as to look for other real estate and development projects in this town
- committing $500,000 to rally community support for the project
- creating a partnership with a local developer where a private landlord will commit $5 million to the medical mart and the conference facility over the next 18 months
)
- working with local schools, colleges and universities to develop everything from vocational programs to full-blown degree programs to train future leaders in Cleveland's hospitality industry
- working with economic development agencies to identify real estate options for companies interested in relocating to Cleveland, where we could help with capital investments in new development
- working with others to find alternative uses for the existing convention facility as it becomes displaced by the state-of-the-art new one
- using our contacts in retail development to anchor the project with great retail to encourage a community-friendly development
)
Many of you may ask, “Which should come first – the mart or the tradeshow facility?” This is not a “chicken-or-egg” dilemma.
)
We absolutely need a full roster of tradeshows to demonstrate to manufacturers an economic justification for taking space in the medical mart so we need a tradeshow hall first.
)
But, we need to remember that once the hall is built and the medical mart is anchored with major tenants, then recruiting new shows to round out a full calendar will be easier and easier, as smaller shows will be attracted to rotating through Cleveland,
)
so that their attendees will have a chance to see the industry's superstars in their state-of-the-art showrooms.
)
Merchandise Mart Properties (MMPI) is a one-stop shop. Only MMPI is capable of managing this project from concept to reality.
)
We are ready to provide the City of Cleveland our services, which we think will come in three phases.
)
In Phase I, the Design and Planning Phase, we will engage the necessary design architects, engineers, traffic and environmental consultants
)
we will create and manage government-approved budgets,
)
we will assist with site selection and infrastructure requirements, and
)
we will coordinate all necessary government approvals.
Our many years of experience in developing, managing and exhibiting in dozens of venues across North America will be used to design a world-class facility for Cleveland .
)
In Phase 2, the Construction Phase, we will switch to our hard hats in construction and development.
)
Our turnkey construction management services will devise a
)
workable and realistic timeline for construction.
)
We will then hire and manage contractors and act as a project manager during the entire construction phase.
)
In Phase 3, the Ongoing Management phase, we will assume the reins of management and, working with the City of Cleveland and its Convention and Tourism Bureau, we will sell and market the new Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility.
)
As in the other facilities we currently manage, MMPI will have the ability in Cleveland to manage all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the facility from
)
security,
)
operations,
)
meeting and event planning,
)
housekeeping, and right on through to tradeshow production.
)
In addition to our focus on the medical marketplace, MMPI currently produces a dozen tradeshows and consumer events which we believe would be well suited to import to Cleveland.
)
These shows attract buyers of high-end furniture, antiques, art, crafts, giftware, apparel and luxury kitchen and bath products, and we think hosting them in Cleveland will help to rebrand the city.
)
The Merchandise Mart will use our pioneering efforts to link marts and tradeshows that have produced phenomenally successful markets in each of the cities in which we operate.
)
Closing
As we look to the future, we realize that Cleveland itself is a tremendous competitive advantage.
)
Today there are more doctors working in these institutions than in all of the hospitals in Boston combined. Doctors and researchers located in Cleveland continue to dominate their fields. Some of the country's most innovative medical leaders are thriving here.
)
Ask people all over the world. Cleveland has made it clear that it will be a force within the national economy with enough gravity to
)
attract people from all over the world to its medical infrastructure.
)
Exhibitors and attendees want to be a part of what you offer here in Cleveland.
)
They want to:
- visit the Cleveland Clinic,
- see Case Western Reserve,
- understand University Hospitals, and
- enjoy the Cleveland experience.
)
We want to contribute to your success. We will develop a state-of-the-art medical mart. We want to develop a cutting edge tradeshow facility.
)
We will attract show managers to the Cleveland Medical Mart and tradeshow hall who will be overwhelmed with the new offerings. We are prepared to launch our own shows to support all of this.
)
With MMPI, you also get an experienced management team, the reliability of a huge organization, and a long-term partner to create economic impact.
)
We believe in Cleveland - we believe in its economy and its people,
)
and its ability to lead the medical world in innovation and design.
)
We believe in the tradeshow industry and its ability to weather recessions, its ability to churn out new products, and its ability to fill the new Cleveland Medical Mart and Tradeshow Facility with happy and healthy exhibitors.
)
You have our commitment that we will do whatever we can to build you up, and we will never let you down.
)
For decades, the medical industry has been a major asset to Cleveland.
)
With your support and help, I believe it will continue to contribute to the state, to the region, to the nation, and to the world.
)