FSI Expands From Pets Into Home Show Market with Purchase of New Jersey Home Show

April 10, 2012

FSI already produces one of the largest pet shows in the U.S., Super Pet Expo, in Edison, N.J., so it was a natural fit for the company to buy another Edison-based consumer show, the New Jersey Home Show.

“As a public show producer, we were already in the market producing the pet shows,” said Eric Udler, FSI president.

He added, “There actually is a lot of crossover attendance with the home show as well. Most pet owners own homes.”

The New Jersey Home Show is held annually at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison and is billed as the largest home show in the New York Metropolitan area.

The show was launched 22 years ago and is sponsored by Public Service Electric and Gas Company, New Jersey’s largest gas and electric utility.

Udler said the opportunity to buy the home show came about through the show’s owner, Gary Katz, who runs Good Living Expositions and also is Udler’s mentor.

“He could have sold to a bigger company, like Marketplace Events, but he wanted to keep the personal touch to the show and we have that with our pet shows,” Udler said.

He added the New Jersey Home Show “was a good fit for our show portfolio.”

Liz Masich, group show director for FSI, said of the New Jersey Home Show acquisition, “Our plan is to nurture ongoing relationships and develop new ones similar to what we have done with our wildly successful Super Pet Expo.”

The New Jersey Home Show typically attracts 30,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors to the New Jersey Convention Center, according to Udler.

FSI already is making positive changes to the show, he added, with a new Web site and URL, www.homeshowexpo.com, among other enhancements on tap.

And, the New Jersey Home Show is just the first of many FSI hopes to buy in the future, Udler said.

“We are in an acquisition mode to buy more home shows,” he added.

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