Following the cancelling of the 2016 FER trade show in Madrid, some rebuilding of the major Spanish trade association Facomare is taking place.
Three of its principal member companies, Novomatic, Merkur and Zitro, have left and formed their own organisation, Club de Convergentes.
The break-away has been triggered by the cancellation of the FER Interazar, which is held annually in Madrid. There was a demand from within Facomare, notably from R Franco, to make the show bi-annual.
Main rivals Unidesa (the Cirsa company) and others disagreed, but in the event the majority opted for a show every two years. The main impact of the decision was to severely damage the income of the trade association, owner of the show. Two-thirds of its budget came from the exhibition revenues.
The inevitable sharp rise in membership fees had a further adverse effect and Zitro, Novomatic and Doshnia-Merkur (part of the Gauselmann Group) decided to leave rather than pay the higher membership fees. Sente, which distributes the Gauselmann AWPs in Spain, decided to remain within Facomare.
