News Mirror Of The
News Mirror Of The Industry Dr Göke welcomes market boost at the right time and place Dr. Christian Göke Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin “More and more exhibitors are focusing on IFA to introduce their new products to the market.” Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin, used the opening press conference to stress IFA’s role as a global industry barometer... [ Interview by Richard Barnes ] IFA reflects industry trends and the economy and provides an important boost for the markets. It takes place at just the right time of year for the industry and the trade to prepare for peak business around Christmas. More and more exhibitors are focusing on IFA to introduce their new products to the market. How do you see the current situation in Europe? Europe is not a homogeneous market. It’s a common market on the one hand but, on the other hand, there are still 27 countries and at least 35 languages. Yes, there is a crisis in some of the smaller countries, especially Greece, Portugal and, now Spain, but the larger countries, such as France and Germany, are still doing well. As a result, the overall GDP development in the first quarter of 2012 is a plus of 2.3% or 2.4%. What does that mean for IFA? Europe is still our home market and still the larger part of our exhibitors is situated in Europe. Asia is a growth market, and America is divided between north and south, so the good news for us is that Europe is stable. Out of all the new technology here at IFA, what excites you the most? There are 10,000 new products and I can’t tell you which will be the most attractive one. But of course the new 4K and 8K TV technologies are simply breathtaking. If you have the chance to look at these incredibly bright, sharp pictures, it’s just amazing. OLED will give you a completely new perspective on how slim a TV can possibly be. On the household-appliance front, there are tons and tons of new products to make your life easier in the kitchen. The innovation here is as least as fast and as breathtaking as in the consumer-electronics field. What are the biggest challenges of a show like IFA? Handling the countless stakeholders involved. A trade show is an attempt to bring together people, to keep them on the same track and to enable communication between stakeholders — of which there are hundreds at a show of this size. What does Berlin bring to IFA? From a logistic standpoint, Berlin is perfect. There’s a tremendous variety of hotels at affordable prices, and the city is so full of history that everybody is tempted to stay here longer than is actually required for IFA. IFA is the most successful show of its kind. What’s the key to its success? At the end of the day, it’s because we are completely focused on trade visitors — especially international trade visitors. We have put all our energy and effort into attracting them to IFA, because we truly believe that you can only run this kind of show if it is as international as it can be. Conze Reveals Ambitions Dyson’s 2012 press conference today will see new CEO Max Conze, who took over the role in February, make his IFA debut. In the past two years, 250 new engineers have joined Dyson’s HQ in the UK and, this year, the company is looking for at least another 150 bright new minds. This growing team of engineers is working on technology that is five or 10 years away from being ready for market — and, with £1.5m (€1.98m) invested in R&D every year, that technology is improving by the day. “We are still young and we have a lot left to achieve. So to meet our ambitions, we need more people,” Conze told IFA International. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Friday 31 st August 2012 9
