A new trend toward out-of-town exhibition centers could come just in time for Moscow exhibition organizers as they face a space squeeze

 Krokus Expo, a new exhibition center due to open next February, is set to offer lower-cost exhibition space on the Moscow Ring Road, away from the more centrally located Expocenter, the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VVTs) and Sokolniki venues.

Krokus International, a consumer goods group and exhibitions organizer, announced plans last week to open the 44,000 square-meter exhibition center inside its Krokus City shopping center in northwest Moscow. The new facility looks set to defy previous predictions that exhibitions would not want to relocate further out of town, as Krokus International president, Aras Agalarov, announced the company has already signed up 20 exhibitions for 2004. With an announced day rate of 3 euros per square meter, Krokus' prices look set to significantly undercut city center venues and follow in the footsteps of retail and leisure outlets, which are increasingly opening around the Moscow Ring Road.

The new facility has even been welcomed by leading exhibition centers, which cite pressure for space as the number of exhibitions grows year on year. Last year, the Lenexpo exhibition association reported that 1.2 million square meters of exhibition space were sold.

Expocenter's deputy general director, Nikolai Gusev, said some of its ongoing exhibits may relocate to Krokus Expo. "We are running out of space, and, therefore, we would like to have deep and thought-out cooperation with Krokus Expo," he said.

The company managing Sokolniki, MVK, has already signed a cooperation agreement with Krokus. According to MVK general director Alexander Kvasnikov, the PoligrafInter publishing exhibition will relocate from Sokolniki to Krokus in 2004, followed by EvroExpoMebel and RosUpak in 2005. Kvasnikov said that Sokolniki expects to host around 120 exhibitions next year, up 50 percent on this year's figure. It will be difficult to house all the exhibitions in a 40,000 square-meter facility, he said. "In future we plan only to keep in Sokolniki the exhibitions that are meant for a massive audience," Kvasnikov said. "That will allow us to use the surrounding park to its full advantage."

ZashchitaExpo, the first exhibition to use the new center, hopes visitors to the Krokus City mall and Tvoi Dom, next door to the new expo, will also visit its sports equipment and jeans exhibitions, which have been based at Sokolniki for the last three years. "Tvoi Dom gets 20,000 visitors on Sundays," said Igor Filonenko, the director of ZashchitaExpo. "We wouldn't mind having as many visitors as that."

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has also signed an agreement to move five of its exhibitions from VVTs to Krokus Expo in 2004. Krokus hopes to benefit from what it says is a combination of lower prices and good quality exhibition space. Agalarov said Krokus has agreements for 20 exhibitions, with a total of 215,000 square meters, lined up for next year, and has a further 18 exhibitions in the works.

Krokus International, founded in 1989 as a U.S.-Russian joint venture with interests in computers, electronics, clothing and footwear, went on to launch Comtek, the first computer trade fair in the CIS. By the late 1990s, Krokus had 15 fairs in various sectors. But with exhibitions unprofitable after the 1998 crash, Krokus sold its exhibitions business to British exhibition group ITE in early 2000, with the proviso that it avoid similar exhibitions to ITE for five years. Now exhibitions are good business again, the company is keen to expand with airport equipment, landscape design and fashion exhibitions organized for 2004.

Alexander Bortsov, deputy director at Krokus, said that when its five-year deal with ITE expires in early 2005, the company will return to some of its former sectors. Krokus Expo cost $30 million to build and has an anticipated payback period of five years. By 2007, Krokus plans to expand the center by another 40,000 to 50,000 square meters.