After much deliberations and plenty of social media conjecture, it is now verified that the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) has officially canceled their annual trade show for 2020. This is the first time in 87 years that the show has been canceled.
Scott Pearce, executive director of the PCA noted in a prepared statement:
“After much deliberation and careful discussions of every aspect of our annual convention and trade show, the PCA Board and the Associate Member Advisory Board have made the difficult decision to cancel our current event scheduled for July.
The annual event is an important fixture in the premium tobacco industry, and we were very excited to bring a whole new experience to the industry this year. However, the public health and safety of our attendees, staff and volunteers outweighed any other considerations in our collective decision-making process”
The trade show was scheduled to be held July 10-14 in Las Vegas, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the association was forced to cancel. Many retailers and brand owners that we have spoken to, told us they were not planning to attend the show this year due to financial and health considerations. Last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved guidelines for 400 casino properties in the state that included a requirement that conventions be limited to 250 people. That alone would have made the PCA Trade Show a no-go.
How the PCA handles the early deposits that were put down on booths is yet to be determined, but we have whispers that the PCA may credit those deposits to next years show. We will have to wait and see how all that plays out.
What’s Next
The PCA did note:
“PCA has been working on some new ways for manufacturers and retailers to connect and has made the decision to fast-track these plans to launch some of these this year to help support retailers and manufacturers as our economy begins the slow process of opening and realizing some modest sense of normalcy. PCA will release the details of these new services in the coming weeks.”