10
NEWS Success for First CE China and Asian GPC The stakes were high – the rewards are exceptional… watch this space! As a global IFA event, CE China in April 2016 was a welcome addition to Messe Berlin’s portfolio for the Chinese market, and its opening event coincided with the annual IFA Global Press Conference (GPC), in its tenth year. For the IFA Global Press Conference it was the first time it had taken place outside of Europe – in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. More than 300 media representatives from over 50 countries attended the IFA GPC 2016. The decision to move the Global Press Conference to Hong Kong was interesting not only from the point of view of taking journalists to Shenzhen for CE China, but also due to the fact that this zone is where a great deal of market dynamic is taking place. According to Jürgen Boyny, Global Director Consumer Electronics, GfK Retail and Technology, “Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances will continue to grow until 2020 and even beyond. Decisive regions for growth are China, with its by far biggest market; South East Asia and India will develop by a continuous upgrade of household equipment. All these markets are driven by innovation”. The CE China trade show took place from 20th to 22nd April at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, where it offered Chinese and global brand manufacturers the opportunity to present their latest products and services to consumers and distributors. Key partners of CE China included the Shenzhen Municipal Government, top Chinese distributors such as Suning and Alibaba, and IDG – China’s leading media group. Trade delegations from Europe, Japan and Korea, such as Rakuten, Hi-Mart, Euronics International and Expert International supported CE China and their representatives also attended the event. Yin Jing, President of Tmall 3C & Home Appliances Business Unit for Alibaba, was highly supportive of the initiative: “Shenzhen, as one of the most dynamic cities and Chinese Silicon Valley, has a population of more than 15 million people in the electronics industry. While IFA is world's largest consumer electronics exhibition Expo, it makes topnotch technologies and products easily accessible to Chinese consumers. As the biggest e-commerce platform in the world, we would like to work with IFA, bringing better products and IT IS QUITE VALUABLE FOR ALL OF US TO BE INSPIRED BY THE COLLISION OF IDEAS FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES services to Chinese consumers, and bringing consumers to the brands. This is also how we fulfil our mission, of making it easy to do business everywhere.” Speaking with IFA International before the event, a senior spokesman for Suning said the CE-China show was the “first chance for Suning and IFA to come together to provide Chinese consumers with an attempt to understand the world's most advanced consumer electronics products. For both China and Europe, the CE-China exhibition will build better bridges of communication and this shared platform allows Chinese consumers to learn more about European and American brands of products and services, as well as taking domestic brands and products out of China, into the world of opportunities.” BSH – A MAJOR PRESENCE AT CHINESE EVENT Bosch & Siemens Home Appliances had by far the biggest stands at the CE China event. Roland Gerke, CEO and President of BSH Home Appliances in China explained: “We appreciate CE China’s bringing IFA – the pioneer of consumer electronics expos – to China. We believe that this expo is a bilateral platform – showing substantial innovations to Chinese consumers while also enabling foreign manufactures to deeply understand the fast developing momentum of the China market. It is quite valuable for all of us to be inspired by the collision of ideas from all these different countries.” MESSE BERLIN CEO UNDERLINES SUCCESS OF EVENT As the event unfolded, Dr Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin told IFA International that the first edition of CE China demonstrated that the event was a “great start”: “I have spoken to the mayor, and he said, ‘I can’t believe what you’re doing here!’ We have been selective in our choice of exhibitors. It was our choice to make one big, clean hall with serious exhibitors, rather than two halls with companies selling sex toys. The essence is truly B2B, with retail buyers meeting manufacturers: European manufacturers and retailers meeting Asian manufacturers and buying groups. The Europeans are here to scout and discover upcoming brands from China, but at the end of the day, the intention is really to bring International brands and other Asian brands into the perception and the awareness of the Chinese customer, via the media and via the retailers. That is the core of this show. Therefore this year the show floor is B2B, and media and retailers then bring the brands to the customer. And the show is packed. I didn’t expect that” Dr Christian Göke CEO, Messe Berlin, welcomes Shenzhen Vice Mayor Chen Biao and his entourage on a tour of CE China. Yin Jing President - Tmall 3C & Home Appliances Business Unit – Alibaba Roland Gerke CEO & President - BSH Home Appliances - China www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 29 th August 2016 11
