NEWS EDITORIAL Richard
NEWS EDITORIAL Richard Barnes Editor-In-Chief China: The Obvious Choice Messe Berlin, organisers of IFA – the most successful Technical Consumer Goods show in the world, are making a major step in the “internationalisation” of their brand, thanks to CE China. The question of course might be asked, “Why choose China as the place to step out and expand, rather than another country?” I would imagine the organisers had little difficulty in choosing this nation as the location for an “antenna” of IFA, as without doubt it is the most dynamic market – not only for the production of electronic equipment, but also as a fast growing market for products designed and manufactured in western countries. We believe the greatest strength in a show such as CE China will lie not in it being another simple showcase for Chinese products, but in it being a veritable information and knowledge exchange on the very highest level, enabling producers from both the east and the west to benefit and grow. Thus, Shenzhen was also a smart choice. Shenzhen highly respects and cultivates innovation and values the importance of developing a leading edge in science and technology. As China’s very first nationally recognized “City of Innovation”, Shenzhen has 4,700 nationally rated hi-tech companies, which is 49% of the national total. More than 60% of Shenzhen’s hi-tech products come with proprietary intellectual property rights. In 2014, overall social investment in Research and Development amounted to over 4% percent of regional GDP and the city was N°1 in the 2014 Forbes ranking of mainland China’s most innovative cites. We wish CE China a long and healthy existence! First IFA Global Press Conference in Far East For the first time, IFA holds its annual IFA Global Press Conference (GPC) outside Europe, in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The GPC offers a unique networking event including exclusive industry power briefings from key industry representatives, individual face-to-face interviews, industry factory and/or style store tours and attending the opening day of CE China. The decision to move the GPC to Hong Kong is interesting not only from the point of view of bringing 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”. Indeed, after ten years of Global media events by IFA, this is a major departure from the norm, and a first for the industry. As at previous events, the GPC consists of power briefings and get-togethers that enable the “cream” of the world’s specialist media to gain in depth insights into industry trends, and benefit from the thought leadership provided by the high-level of attendees present. CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AND HOME APPLIANCES WILL CONTINUE TO GROW UNTIL 2020 AND EVEN BEYOND. 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NEWS CE China’s “Raison d’Etre” Messe Berlin CEO Dr Christian Göke explains the background to the event Welcome to Shenzhen! 欢 迎 来 到 深 圳 ! At a press conference announcing the launching of the Messe Berlin backed trade show in Shenzhen, Guo Limin, Director General, Economy, Trade and Information Commission of Shenzhen Municipality outlined the key advantages of the southern Chinese destination as a location for this new trade event. Following are key extracts from his speech: What are the aims of this first CE China event, and what are the longer-term goals? We put the question to Dr Christian Göke – at the helm of Messe Berlin – organiser of the show. Our exhibiting partners from the industry at IFA have been asking us to support their brands and new products on the road to China for years. IFA’s mission and intention here is to successfully carry this process along for our partners. The long-term-goal is to establish a trade show that is based on successful cooperation with leading retail groups and a strong consumer-oriented, crossthematic brand- and product-philosophy for the smart world of tomorrow. In the first year of setting up this new trade show, CE China is being held in combination with the annual Global Press Conference (GPC). This is the first time that the annual GPC will not have been held in Europe, but in Hong Kong and Shenzhen during the three days leading up to the start of CE China. CE China will build on the huge success of the IFA concept, with its focus on brands, their innovations, and their products. By bringing together trade visitors and consumers from across China and other Pan-Asian markets, we have the opportunity to put a local spotlight on global brand products from two of the world’s most innovative industries – consumer electronics and home appliances. The rise of the Chinese middle class is creating even greater demand for Western and quality brands, and satisfying this demand requires the qualitative development of distribution channels. Similar to IFA in Berlin, we offer close and Signing of the official agreement to “kick off” CE China during IFA 2015. On left, Dr Christian Göke, CEO, Messe Berlin; on right, Guo Limin, Director General, Economy, Trade and Information Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (in background, Jens Heithecker, Director of IFA and Cornelia Yser, Senator for Economics, Technology and Research CE CHINA WILL BUILD ON THE HUGE SUCCESS OF THE IFA CONCEPT, WITH ITS FOCUS ON BRANDS, THEIR INNOVATIONS, AND THEIR PRODUCTS dedicated support to our trade partners – first to efficiently support the retail and second to support the growth in consumer demand. Chinese consumers are more receptive to new products and technologies, so we are understandably eager to develop the best possible consumer platform for global brands in China. As a Special Economic Zone, Shenzhen is a highly open economy. We have trade relations with more than 200 countries and regions in the world. We are a global distributing center for mechanical, electrical, ICT and hi-tech products, placing us at the top ranking of China’s medium and big cities in merchandise import and export. Businesses from 135 countries and regions, including 193 of the Fortune Global 500 Companies, have made their investment in Shenzhen. Shenzhen is an important global cluster and distributing center of electrical and ICT products, and, like Berlin, is a City of Design rated by the Creative Cities Network. We are confident that, with our contacts getting more frequent and our mutual understanding and trust getting stronger and deeper, our cooperation will become so profound as to benefit our common development and prosperity. That the IFA Show is coming to Shenzhen is a great step towards closer partnership between Shenzhen and Berlin. IFA has a great reputation and is highly influential in the consumer electronics industry. With Shenzhen’s convenient transportation infrastructure, excellent geographical location and wonderful industrial layout, we have every reason to IFA WILL HELP SHENZHEN BRING UP THE CITY’S CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION PROFESSION TO A NEWER, HIGHER INTERNATIONAL LEVEL believe that IFA’s landing in Shenzhen will enable it to carry ever greater professional influence in China as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, IFA will help Shenzhen bring up the City’s convention and exhibition profession to a newer, higher international level. Shenzhen will actively, continuously assist IFA with its landing in our city and support this project as much as possible within the boundaries of our laws and policies. CE China News • 20 th - 22 nd April 2016 3
