Apple done with Macworld

Apple today announced that it will no longer exhibit at the Macworld Expo after the January 2009 event. Not only is the company pulling its presence from the show floor, but also from the keynote address. Many of the attendees that paid nearly $2000 for keynote priority seating may be disappointed to find out that Steve Jobs will not be giving the final keynote address. The senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Philip Schiller, will speak to the crowd instead.

The company explained the decision as a shift in marketing strategy that puts less importance on trade shows. Direct interaction with millions of customers will be provided by the Apple Stores, including the brick-and-mortar establishments and Apple.com. The computer-maker has not exhibited at several other shows in the past few years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

The event appears to be struggling to fill floor space for the 2009 expo. Adobe was one of the first large companies to announce that it will not establish a booth this year. Belkin also plans to pull out and put more money into private product announcements. The overall registrations are down 20 percent and many companies, such as Google, will reduce their booth sizes.

by MacNN Staff