Exclusive: SHOPA to declare bankruptcy

NEW YORK The School & Home Office Products Association (SHOPA) is apparently the latest trade organization to succumb to the pressures of a rapidly evolving retail industry. According to sources who spoke to Retailing Today on condition of anonymity, the board of directors of SHOPA has approved a plan to file for bankruptcy protection in the very near future. No further details were immediately available.

Having fallen on tough times in recent years, SHOPA, which was founded in 1991 and subsequently became synonymous with the annual office products trade show of the same name, tried its hand at teaming with a larger organization, namely the renowned German trade show organizer Messe Frankfurt.

In 2005, SHOPA and Messe Frankfurt, along with Spanish trade association PROPAPER, collectively produced a new event called Paperworld USA.  The venue was modeled after the one Messe Frankfurt puts on in Germany, simply known as Paperworld, that draws some 2,500 exhibitors and more than 70,000 attendees.  As part of the new show, the two groups formulated a series of guaranteed-appointment events branded SBTS to meet the rising demand for face to face contact.

After two years of hosting the show in its traditional fall time slot, however, Paperworld USA organizers moved this year's event to a June time slot and changed the venue to the Los Angeles Convention Center.  However, in what now appears as a sign of things to come, long time SHOPA president Steve Jacober left the organization in May, immediately prior to the newly relocated Paperworld USA event.