From the Andertons site:
 
"One of the biggest surprises of NAMM has happened before the show’s even started! Gibson have confirmed that they won’t be at the NAMM show for 2018. This is due to their increased presence at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on 9-12 January where they are focusing on consumer electronics audio under the Phillips brand."
 
They really are praying that the Phillips stuff is going to be their lifeboat, enabling them to get out of this wretched guitar/music business stuff once and for all.

Cost cutting.

NAMM will likely cease to be in the future, or morph into something unrecognizable.  Musical instruments aren't a thing anymore. Last NAMM it was said, Cakewalk had a booth but nobody was manning it. Or maybe that was the year before. There are a few millennials that can really play but not enough to hold up the National Association of Music Manufactures. And they don't give a twit about Gibson aside from Epiphones because they can afford those. But they're sold off in droves as it's just not a thing. Takes too long. They spend their money on rice rockets with woofers in the trunk, iphone X and today snowboard.
 
Take poor guitar center. Not only are brick and mortars suffering under the weight of the interweb, They find themselves with stores full of gear around the globe and the base from which to hire staff from doesn't know or care what any of it is or does.
 
https://www.gearslutz.com...old-guitar-center.html

they should do a "closing down sale" , like regular shops do

how long since cake appeared, couple of years?
 

i think gibson only picked up philips consumer stuff, not the medical etc stuff? they're a pretty big operator in europe for these things
 

Wow.
On a few levels...

Rather than its customary third-floor stand at the Anaheim MI staple, the company is instead focusing its efforts on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which takes place on 9-12 January 2018.

In the U.S. I don't feel Philips has a strong presence anymore. At one time (i.e., ~30-years ago) I felt their presence. I bought one of their turntables that I still have (and it still works). Nice product. But today, I don't see much of a presence. Their website indicates 4K-TVs, BluRay players, and such. They seem like they might be nice products. Maybe they have good sales in other countries. 

They skipped musicmesse too, I heard.