Nov 25, 2014

Halloween Industry Association (HIA) And Urban Expositions Partner to Acquire the Halloween & Party Expo From H&P Expo

The Halloween Industry Association (HIA) and Urban Expositions announced they are to acquire Halloween & Party Expo from its current owners, H&P Expo, LLC. The upcoming event, scheduled for February 6-9, 2015 at the New Orleans Convention Center, will be operated by H&P Expo. HIA and Urban will take over the event immediately following the 2015 edition.

Under the new partnership, Urban Expositions will be responsible for managing all aspects of the event including sales, operations, marketing and promotion with guidance and expertise provided by the Halloween Industry Association.

“Our membership is thrilled to have Urban Expositions as our partner for the Halloween & Party Expo. The HIA is passionate about the event and looks forward to its partnership with Urban Expositions, a company with a great deal of trade show knowledge and customer focus,” said Marc Beige, Chairman of the HIA board and CEO of Rubies Costume Company. “This is an exciting opportunity for members to lead the premiere buying event with proceeds to fund industry initiatives.”

Urban and HIA will focus their efforts on increasing awareness of the event, expanding the selection of the product mix and growing and expanding the show into an internationally recognized event for the Halloween industry. In the U.S., where Halloween is an extremely popular holiday (2nd largest commercial holiday), expenditures on Halloween products top $7.4 billion. On costumes alone U.S. consumers spend $2.8 billion annually with the average consumer spending $77.52.

Doug Miller, President and Partner of Urban Expositions, states, “Along with our partners at the HIA, our plans are to build upon the great success of the show that Jonathan and Walter Erwin have created and developed. We are very excited about this tremendous opportunity to work with the wonderful members of HIA.”

Jonathan Erwin, of the H&P Expo, LLC, states, ” The transfer of show ownership to the HIA and Urban partnership is a natural evolution for the show. We look forward to a smooth transition and to supporting and attending the show for years to come.”

Future editions of Halloween & Party Expo will also take place in New Orleans with dates of:

January 20 – 23, 2016

January 14 – 17, 2017

About Urban Expositions

Urban Expositions, which is based in Kennesaw, GA, produces and manages a portfolio of 34 events covering six sectors. Urban Expositions was founded in 1995 with the Philadelphia Gift Show and built its business in the regional Gift & Souvenir industries. In 2008 Urban began to diversify outside of Gift & Souvenir and now produces events in sectors including Art, Aviation, Foodservice and Gaming. Urban also produces one publication, Airport Revenue News, focused on the airport concession industry. Outside of Kennesaw Urban also has offices in Shelton, CT and Boca Raton, FL, as well as many remote employees based in areas that are rich with customers. For more information visit www.urban-expo.com.

About HIA

The Halloween Industry Association (HIA) was formally incorporated in 2005 as a 501(c)(6) trade organization to promote and build the celebration of Halloween in the United States. HIA represents businesses involved in the manufacture, importation or distribution of Halloween products including costumes, décor, novelty items and party supplies. HIA has grown to become the premier authority on Halloween and serves as a non-profit voice of the industry. For more information on HIA, please visit www.hiaonline.org or contact hia@ahint.com.

HIA Media Contact:

Lauren Schoener-Gaynor

Associate MarCom Manager

856.380.6878

lgaynor@ahint.com

Urban Expositions Media Contact:

Suzanne Pruitt

678.285.0307

Suzanne@marshmeadowsmarketing.com