News Hisense Celebrates
News Hisense Celebrates Rapid Global Expansion In a compelling presentation at IFA 2014, Dr. Lan Lin, VP of Hisense Group and General Manager of Hisense International, revealed that the Chinese consumer electronics and home appliances giant has grown its international revenues by a spectacular 412% in just six years, from US0m to US.1bn. Dr Lin attributes this success to “people, products and brands”, adding that Hisense branded goods now account for 50% of the company’s international revenues. According to Dr. Lin, becoming a global company with a recognisable brand is critical to survival, adding, “if you are not innovative Acer, A Touch More of a Comeback Hall 17 Stand 109 enough it will be the end of your company.” Innovation is a major theme for Hisense at IFA. Among 27 products announced, key developments include the Sero 5 LTE smartphone, the Hisense Laser Cinema system, the energy-efficient Acer unveiled an innovative new product line-up for the upcoming holiday season at its global press conference at IFA 2014. Acer’s launch event was under the heading of “A Touch More Connected,” a theme for the company through its turnaround. The last quarter’s performance, said Acer, demonstrated the company’s return to growth and profitability. Acer will now focus on a wider WFP8014V washing machine and the introduction of the Total No Frost Multi Airflow system to key refrigerators. Hisense also heralded a partnership with Loewe to create curved UHD TVs. Hall 6.2 Stand 202 product range creating value for users at all price points. Jason Chen, Acer Corporate President and CEO said “Today we offer an extensive portfolio of devices with quality services and affordable prices.” Acer’s new products include the Aspire V Nitro series notebooks, a new line-up of tablets and a new Liquid Z500 smartphone for the price-conscious buyer. Board Room, Game Room & “Out-of-Room” Lenovo brings a portfolio of business, consumer and mobile devices to IFA 2014. According to Gartner Research, many of the dealers and retailers that visit IFA often sell into small and medium business, and they will be pleased with the ThinkPad Helix, a 2-in-1 for business customers. With an Intel Core M processor. it weighs 1.35 kilos and measures under 1 cm in depth. Lenovo is also showing ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One 23: world’s first modular all-in-one desktop for business. At under 3 cm thin and weighing just over 2.3 kilos, the Edge 15 convertible laptop is Lenovo’s thinnest 15-inch consumer laptop yet. Lenovo also launched the new VIBE X2 and VIBE Z2 smartphones. The VIBE X2 features the world’s first gradient three layer design. It is also the first global handset to use the new MediaTEK MT6595 4G LTE True8Core processor. Hall 18 Stand 104 6
News Bringing Better Solutions to the Market Panasonic CEO Laurent Abadie on joining forces with Gorenje Last year, Panasonic announced the formation of a long-term strategic alliance with Slovenian home appliances manufacturer Gorenje. We asked Laurent Abadie, Chairman and CEO, Panasonic Europe Ltd., and Managing Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation, to explain how the two companies have been cooperating. As we continue to build a strong business portfolio in the appliances industry, innovation remains at the core of all our efforts. Smart solutions and energy efficient products are key to our research and development plans. Our partnership with Gorenje enables us to further combine Japanese precision technology with European design and customer needs in order to bring advanced, smart and ecologically responsible appliances to consumers across Europe, including Russia. We’ve mainly been joining forces in R&D as well as in sharing of selected manufacturing platforms for selected product categories. Can you tell us more about the products that have been developed together with Gorenje? For example, here at IFA we are announcing the addition of two new models to our washing machine range, both of which draw on Panasonic’s extensive experience with sensor technology. The additions – the Inverter models NA-148XS1 and NA-148XR1 – incorporate Panasonic’s ‘ECONAVI’ sensor technology, enabling easy-to-operate laundry care with a new AutoCare automatic washing program that is tailored to the unique requirements of each load. It takes the hassle out of laundry, removing the need to manually set the washing cycle. What are the USPs of this washing machine? Our engineers from Japan have worked closely together with the Gorenje specialists to develop a product that combines absolute user friendliness with perfect results in terms of cleanliness and fabric protection while meeting very high energy efficiency standards. The innovative Inverter precisely controls the drum rotations according to the load size and any unbalanced clothes, ensuring optimised washing performance for perfectly clean results with minimum vibration and noise. Thus, utilising the Inverter controlled brushless motor and Panasonic’s 3D HydroActive+ feature enables you to save energy and water when washing. Our partnership with Gorenje enables us to further combine Japanese precision technology with European design and customer needs. Laurent Abadie Chairman and CEO Panasonic Europe Ltd. and Managing Executive Officer Panasonic Corporation Hall 5.2 Stand 101 De’Longhi Investment in Innovation Reaps Rewards De’Longhi Germany CEO Helmut Geltner told IFA delegates that De’Longhi Group has come to the market with “around 120 innovations” across its three brand divisions, De’Longhi, Kenwood and Braun. Presenting to the trade, Geltner highlighted the new patented LatteCrema milk system that has taken De’Longhi’s award-winning Eletta Cappuccino Top automatic coffee machine to the next level. He also talked about the new Kenwood CHEF Sense system that makes great baking simpler than ever. Under the Braun marque, operated via a licensing agreement with Procter & Gamble, he discussed developments around the Multiquick hand-blender range. This has seen improved performance thanks to its new SmartSpeed technology. Geltner provided market updates which showed De’Longhi Germany is performing well across three business units. He attributed this to “continued investment in employees, trade partners, innovation and advertising”. In Germany alone, around €9 million is being spent on the three brands across TV, online and print advertising. Hall 1.1 Stand 202 Helmut Geltner De’Longhi Germany CEO Beko WMY 121244 LB1 Washing Machine Household appliances brand Beko used IFA to announce its rise to become Europe’s second largest white goods brand in the first half of 2014. Beko recorded the strongest growth in its segment in the same period. “Within the past five years, we were able to increase our market share by 150%,” said Sühel Semerci, Managing Director of Beko Germany. During this time, Beko had six out of the 10 best-selling appliances in its key appliance sectors - including the number Beko Makes its Mark one washing machine and second-ranked dishwasher. Beko is using IFA 2014 to launch its “Change for the Better” campaign, which, in addition to a new brand logo, will highlight dynamic innovations that saw 100 new products launched this year in Germany alone. Beko has accordingly doubled its exhibition space at IFA, which will showcase its market leading-appliance range. Hall 5.1 Stand 101 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Saturday 6 th & Sunday 7 th September 2014 7
