Hyve Group acquires Shoptalk, Groceryshop

The Shoptalk and Groceryshop conferences, which take place annually in Las Vegas, have been acquired by U.K.-based events company Hyve Group plc for $145 million. Anil D. Aggarwal and Simran Rekhi Aggarwal, founders of the conferences, have become major shareholders in the new owner.

"We're thrilled that Shoptalk and Groceryshop have become part of Hyve Group, a highly product-focused organization where our events can continue to advocate for and serve as important catalysts for the positive transformation of the retail, grocery and consumer packaged goods industries," said Anil D. Aggarwal.

Shoptalk's 2020 event will take place March 22-25, and Groceryshop's 2020 conference will be Sept. 14-17, both at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The Shoptalk event does feature a keynote from the CEO of Ulta Beauty and a session with Stephenie Landry, vice president of, Amazon Fresh, Prime Now, and Whole Foods Integration. The show also has a session on private brands with speakers from Daymon and Nielsen.

"Shoptalk and Groceryshop are the perfect fit for Hyve, consistent with our goal to acquire product-led market-leading events in large industries that have achieved significant size, secured distinct customer bases and developed compelling value propositions, and that hold tremendous opportunities for organic growth and international rollouts," said Mark Shashoua, chief executive officer of Hyve. "These unmissable events share a common culture with Hyve and their acquisition delivers on our vision to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events that provide outstanding experiences and return on investment for our customers."

Last year the two conferences had 11,500 combined attendees.

Abby Kleckler writes for Store Brands sister publication Progressive Grocer.