IFA Organizers Hail Their Show as More ‘Globally Relevant’ Than CES

Just as Dubrovnik is known as “the pearl of the Adriatic Sea,” so should IFA be regarded as “the pearl of the CE industry,” said Rainer Hecker, chairman of IFA sponsor gfu. IFA, scheduled this year to open Aug. 31 for a six-day run, is a CE industry “trendsetter,” with “unique growth based on the right timing at the end of August,” Hecker said. Christian Goke, IFA’s chief operating officer, praised his show as more “globally relevant” than any other CE industry event. IFA is “number one in international trade visitors, international media, orders placed and product premieres,” Goke said. “Display space is the best indicator and we are on track for a new record year."

IFA is “oversold,” Executive Director Jens Heithecker said when asked if exhibit space is sold out. “All the major brands in CE and appliances have signed up. We are not in crisis mode. Companies that are in crisis will exhibit at IFA as the best way to show themselves off.” Added Goke: “For extra space, we are having to look for new areas, but there will not be a major increase in space until 2014 when an additional hall opens."

As for CES, Goke with tongue in cheek praised it as “a great show for the USA.” As such, CES “is covering another market,” not the global stage that IFA occupies, he said. As global competitors, IFA “passed” CES “two or three years ago,” he said. A major flaw of CES is that it “does not include white goods,” Heithecker said, though in reality, CES added major appliance exhibits at this year’s show. It’s therefore “time for white goods manufacturers in the USA to discover IFA,” Heithecker said.

CEA representatives have repeatedly defended CES as the CE industry’s top global exhibition venue on all relevant fronts, as CEA President Gary Shapiro did when we asked him to respond to IFA organizers’ comments. IFA, which is open to consumers, “is a wonderful show and is good for adding consumer excitement to the industry,” Shapiro told us Saturday. But the trade-only “International CES has more exhibitors and a larger footprint,” Shapiro said. “If IFA would independently audit attendance” as CES does, “we can end their Napoleonic size comparisons,” he said.

Other IFA disclosures in Dubrovnik: (1) In early June, Berlin’s old Tegel Airport “will die,” replaced by the sprawling Berlin Brandenburg Airport now nearing completion to the south of the city, Goke said. “We are blessed with Europe’s newest airport, with two runways and 76 additional nonstop international flights connecting Berlin. This means there can be new travel and hotel packages. A new Airport Express link will take only 10 minutes to the fairground.” (2) There will be no free Wi-Fi onsite for IFA show visitors this year, Heithecker said. “There is not enough capacity. Wi-Fi is a challenge.” (3) Goke answered with a terse “no” when asked if there’s a future for IFA in China. “I am sorry if that sounds short, but it is the only answer I can give for the time being,” Goke said.

IFA Preview Notebook

TPVision “is here to stay and to grow,” CEO Maarten de Vries said Friday at one of a series of “power briefings.” TPVision is the Philips-TPV Technology TV joint venture that began operations April 2 in markets outside North America and India, where Philips previously had TV licensing deals in place. “I have been with Philips for 25 years,” first in finance, later in PCs and TVs,” de Vries said. “I have worked for five years with TPV, so I know the company. Philips introduced the first Smart TVs in 2008 and we are concentrating on the user interface and will be introducing a remote control with pointer and keyboard. We shall be working closely with Philips Lifestyle.” As for Philips Lifestyle itself, it will expand its Fidelio sub-brand using the promotional tagline, “obsessed with sound,” said Wiebo Vaartjes, the sector’s CEO. The new range of Fidelio audio products was on show as stylish black and silver mockups in a small side exhibition at the conference hotel. Two Internet audio units, the A2 wireless hi-fi receiver and A1 wireless hi-fi link, will launch worldwide in July, at 249 and 149 euros, respectively. They'll be accompanied by three models of wireless speakers that all will connect to an iOS or Android smartphone using the new AirStudio app promised by Philips. The A1 link will upgrade an existing home stereo system to stream music from a mobile phone or from the Internet. The A2 receiver works much the same way, but has a built-in digital amplifier for connection direct to existing wired speakers. Philips claims “quick and easy” set-up of all the new products, promising “from box to wow in just five minutes.”