Launch. Scale. Exit – Middle East: "We literally pitched our tents and got on with it" with Virginia Kern, Founder, Fairs & Exhibitions
Some businesses are built on a spreadsheet. Others are built on a red carpet laid over sand outside Dubai's old Chamber of Commerce.
That was the reality facing Virginia Kern when she joined her father's exhibitions company in 1976 and turned her attention to a region with almost no infrastructure to speak of. Over the next four decades, Fairs & Exhibitions Ltd (F&E) grew from tented shows on the Deira creekside into the organiser behind the Dubai Airshow and Arab Health, riding the Gulf's transformation from oil discovery to global business hub.
In this post, Founder Virginia Kern shares why total focus on one region beat spreading thin, why customer loyalty mattered more than short-term profit, and why she never actually planned to sell the business she built.
What inspired you to launch your events?
During the 1970s, coinciding with the recent discovery of oil, it became evident there was huge business potential throughout the Gulf region. F&E was warmly welcomed by the then Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who had an incredible determination and vision for what he wanted his country to become: a major global hub for international business.
We were actively encouraged to bring a series of international trade fairs and exhibitions to the Gulf, starting with the basic infrastructure needs of the region: construction, power generation, water technology and more. As the region developed, we kept identifying new opportunities over the following three to four decades, and I believe there's still potential to develop the model further today.
How did you know it was the right moment to take the plunge and start up on your own?
I entered the world of trade event organising through family connections. My father had started the company back in the 1950s running trade exhibitions in the UK and Europe, but the pull of the opportunities presenting themselves in the Middle East and beyond was too strong to resist. When I joined the business in 1976, it meant the company's future would be focused much further from home.
What two or three decisions in the early years made the biggest difference to the outcome?
F&E was already known for running high-quality trade events across the UK and Europe. But as a small, entrepreneurial organisation, we didn't want to stretch our team or resources too thin, so it was essential that we focused entirely on the new opportunities in the Middle East. Success in the region, particularly in the UAE and wider Gulf, has always come from being intensely loyal and ever-present. That's why we committed 100% to the region, and it was rewarded with a close working relationship with government decision-makers in Dubai.
In those early days there were very few international or regional airports operating in the region. I remember clearly how much of Dubai's traditional trading still arrived on dhows unloading along the Deira creekside. It wasn't until the early 1980s that our plans came together for a Freight & Transport Exhibition, which grew into Arab Air – a Civil Aviation and Airport Equipment Exhibition (1986 and 1988) – and finally the fully-fledged Dubai Airshow, which first took place in 1989. The rapid success and global recognition of the Dubai Airshow, coinciding with the launch of Emirates and other major international airlines in the UAE, proved a massive turning point for the company.
What metrics ended up mattering more than you'd expected?
Customer retention and continuous business growth meant everything to F&E and helped us build brand loyalty very quickly. That was our key measure of success. We always put our clients' and customers' needs first, even when it affected potential profit. My accountants weren't always happy about that philosophy, but I knew it was vital to ensure ongoing success, and survival, in what eventually became quite a crowded market.
Successful trade fairs come down to delivering the leading international companies in any given sector to the largest, most relevant audience of regional and international buyers, and that was our priority at every event. All the major blue-chip organisations were keen to attend, but it was just as important to bring the lesser-known sector innovators too. Whether a show was big or small, we made sure everyone received the same standard of organisation, presentation, marketing and visitor promotion.
How did the UAE market shape the growth of your events?
In our very early days, from 1976 to 1980, there were no venues and very little infrastructure. We literally pitched our tents and got on with it. The first "exhibition hall" in Dubai was a large tented structure, imported from Canada, erected creek-side outside the old Chamber of Commerce building in Deira. Electricity generators, WCs and all on-site facilities were temporary and extremely basic, with the organiser's office set up in a small Portakabin and no air-conditioning. Even so, we wanted to welcome our visitors properly, so a long red carpet was laid on top of the sand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Those first exhibitions included Middle East Construction, Middle East Electricity, and Middle East Health-Care, which eventually became the world-renowned Arab Health Show. The exhibitors at those early Construction and Electricity shows were the very same companies that went on to establish businesses in the UAE and, through joint ventures, build most of the infrastructure that is now modern Dubai and the wider Gulf.
Eventually the Dubai World Trade Centre opened, and its exhibition halls became the new home for our events. The Dubai Airshow's specialist requirements later meant a move to the International Airport, presenting the exhibition inside adapted aircrafthangars with aircraft on display outside on the tarmac. In some ways we returned to our pioneering roots, as the organiser's office at the first Dubai Airshow was once again a Portakabin. Over the following years, the Dubai Government and Civil Aviation Department recognised the need for purpose-built facilities and generously built international-standard infrastructure for the event, which became one of the most important aerospace business gatherings in the world.
What was the hardest part of launching, and the hardest part of selling?
Launching: the lack of purpose-built facilities in the very early years was extremely challenging. But the pioneering spirit and can-do attitude that endured among my team at F&E, and our close group of specialist event contractors, always meant we found a way over the hurdles. Looking back, nothing ever seemed impossible or unattainable. When you're in your 30s you're only limited by your own imagination, though I accept things are probably harder to achieve today.
Selling: the hardest part was leaving my outstanding team. Their enthusiasm, drive and determination for the company to succeed had become part of everyday life for me.
What was the most rewarding part of launching, and of selling?
Launching: the deep friendships that develop between colleagues and business associates, especially when working abroad around the clock, became something very special to me. Whatever obstacles came up, I knew there were people I could rely on to help me overcome them, particularly when working in countries far less co-operative and welcoming than the UAE.
Selling: almost 35 years of my life went into F&E, and I consider myself lucky that there was no real distinction between my life and my career. It never occurred to me that I'd one day sell the business, so the sale came as much a surprise to me as to everyone else. Since then I've plunged into a completely different world of new interests, learning a great deal about opera, classical music and theatre, which I find enormously stimulating.
What might have sped up the journey from launch to exit?
I had no plan or intention to sell the business, even once it was finally happening, so it's a hard one to answer. I'd turned down several earlier approaches from people and organisations I felt no synergy with, and it eventually happened just at the right time, which is difficult to quantify or explain.
What mistakes would you not make again?
The most important thing is always to stay one step, ideally several steps, ahead of the competition, and to keep your plans intensely private. In the events world, having genuine foresight and anticipating the next big trend long before it happens is absolutely vital.
How do you think an event owner might benefit from Manta Media Capital?
There will always be pitfalls in launching a new business, and I'm sure the level of competition today presents a far greater obstacle than I ever faced. Having access to the breadth of industry knowledge and experience within MMC is undoubtedly helpful. There are always plenty of ideas, but success, and its longterm strength, will always come down to the wise selection of, and investment in, people. The right team makes for a great outcome.
What's next for you?
My brain is always buzzing with new ideas, curiosity and discoveries. When I stepped down from F&E 15 years ago, I promised myself I'd sit down quietly every afternoon with a good book. It still hasn't happened. Life is too interesting to sit still.