Apple Throws in the Towel After Macworld 2009 Jobs Already Has

Apple announced today that it would no longer be attending the Macworld Expo after the 2009 event in January. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple also will not be delivering the opening keynote address for the 2009 event. Apple isn't the only company that is withdrawing from the show, both Belkin and Adobe have both withdrew their booth commitments at the 2009 Macworld. Other companies are expected to scale back as well.

"Every year we see a certain percentage of exhibitors pull out of the event for their own business reasons," a statement from IDG World Expo says. "In this economic climate, it shouldn't be a surprise to see this. The important thing to understand is that Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 will be similar in size to last year's event, and attendees will continue to visit nearly 500 great Mac product vendors on our exhibit floors."

Apple stated that they must reevaluate their strategies. "Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers," a statement released Tuesday explains. The Apple Expo in Paris and Macworld Tokyo will also be scaled back.