NEWS THE DIFFERENCE
NEWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IFA AND A LOT OF OTHER TRADE SHOWS IS THAT ORDERS ACTUALLY GET MADE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT WHEN COMPANIES SPEND TENS OF MILLIONS OF EUROS TO PRESENT HERE. Hans-Joachim Kamp Chairman of the Supervisory Board, gfu Consumer & Home Electronics Record orders, record visitors for IFA 2018 gfu's Hans-Joachim Kamp hails successful event and praises expansion of brand extensions including IFA Global Markets, IFA Next and IFA+ Summit Hans-Joachim Kamp is Supervisory Board Chairman of gfu, the organiser of IFA. As the 2018 edition of the show ended, he told IFA International that key performance indicators suggested it had been another excellent year for the world’s biggest consumer electronics and home appliances show: “IFA is more international than ever which is great news for us,” he said, “And we know from the initial figures that there were more visitors, which is also important for an event that presents goods to the trade, media and public.” Mr Kamp also talked positively about “The IFA+ Summit, which had a fantastic conference programme. It had more participants than in the past and was well received. Another high point was IFA Global Markets over at STATION Berlin. I am so happy with the way that has developed, and I have spoken to a number of companies that sent teams to meet OEM/ODM suppliers there. Global Markets has proved to be an excellent concept, well-structured and wellorganised.” It is too early to give accurate order figures for business at IFA, but Dr Kamp says it will 4 “match last year’s record performance, around 4.7bn Euros. The difference between IFA and a lot of other trade shows is that orders actually get made, which is important when companies spend tens of millions of euros to present here.” A key trend, says Mr Kamp, is that more and more companies are coming to IFA with their latest innovations – rather than releasing them a few months ahead of the market. “This makes sense because products in our market start to decrease in price after three or four months, so if you launch them too early they are falling in price by September or October, which is the busiest time of the year. So by bringing innovations to IFA, I think it’s a win-win for the manufacturers and the show.” In terms of show highlights, Mr Kamp says: “There have been product highlights across all the main categories. I think 8K will have positive impact on the TV market’s development, but that we will also see continued growth for 4K, which is moving mainstream. And I have seen at the booths how excited consumers are about AI innovation like voice control. 15 years ago people tried to introduce voice but it was a mess. Now we have learned from smart phones how it works and I am quite sure this will be one of features that will be appreciated more and more. The same with smart homes. In the past there used to be a lot of discussions about standards, but these days everyone works with apps so there is no problem.” On the subject of Shift Automotive, he was happy that the event, co-organised with the Geneva Motor Show, achieved the right balance. “It’s all about what is the right strategy for IFA. When we introduced home appliances ten years ago, there was a lot of discussion about whether it was right to bring white goods into the show. But now it’s the biggest home appliances trade show in the world. With cars, having a congress fits because this industry is now so connected to it. Co-innovation has been a key theme at IFA 2018, and Mr Kamp said, for him, IFA Next in Hall 26 was a great example of this philosophy. “It nearly doubled in size compared to last year. It was great to see all the startups that were happy with their co-operation with both research institutes and big players. Some of the big Korean, Japanese and European companies have research labs, but several of them also buy shares in small startups. So maybe in the future we will see some of the guys from Hall 26 showing up at IFA as parts of big international companies”
NEWS Smart Home Zone exhibitors showcase connected future IFA enterpreneurs showcase innovation across security, lighting, air conditioning, robotics and much more © Messe Berlin GmbH. © Messe Berlin GmbH. The Smart Home Zone New figures from research firm IDC suggest that smart home technology is gaining traction with consumers. According to the company’s latest figures, 433.1 million smart home devices were shipped worldwide in 2017, up 27.6% on the previous year. Looking ahead, IDC anticipates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5% as the market expands to 939.7 million device shipments by 2022. In terms of the profile of companies at the Smart Home Zone, the majority were either single-product suppliers or smarthome solutions providers. Key product categories on show included security, with a number of firms offering smartlock technology or surveillance. Ring, for example, was showcasing video doorbells and security cameras on its large, wellpopulated stand. There was also a strong emphasis on smart climate control – with air conditioning, air purification and thermostat tech on show. Tado, for example, has just unveiled a new generation of smart thermostats that help users improve the quality of their air through the use of an app and associated tools. Interestingly, there was also a company called Agan Aroma promoting “a smart home aroma diffuser” under the Moodo brand name. While the big manufacturers focused a lot of their energy on smart audiovisual products and large appliances, the Smart Zone crowd focused more on areas such as smart lighting, smoke detectors, energy efficiency controls and small, agile robot appliances. Wiz was showcasing its smart connected lights while the wellestablished Neato brand was on show with its state-of-the-art robot vacuum cleaners. Also present was Chinese firm Mamibot with a range of vacuum and glass cleaning robots. Mamibot’s high end vacuum model included mapping functionality and wet mopping function. Meanwhile, one of the quirkier robot technologies on display at IFA was A’Varram’s smart robotic pet sitter. Away from sector specific companies, there was a strong presence from the likes of Devolo, which was marketing its new home networking product, Magic, a form of mesh WiFi that also uses Powerline technology. Also high-profile was Z-Wave, the company that provides the leading international standard for wireless communication between intelligent devices. Currently there are 2400 Z-Wave compatible products from more than 700 brands and manufacturers worldwide. Other famous brands to be found in the Smart Home Zone included Yale, which this week announced Alexa integration for its latest generation of smart home alarms at IFA, as the Smart Home Zone included the high number of companies promoting their compatibility with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, underlining the way these two systems are becoming increasingly ubiquitous www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Friday 14 th September 2018 5
