Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

BELEK, Turkey – With the IFA celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the event’s organizers expect turnover to reach around 250 million euros this year.



During the media gather at the beautiful Regnum Carya Resort in Belek,Turkey, where 400 global attendees spent four informative and fun technology, organizers announced that the exhibition grounds and the City Cube are almost fully booked up for 2014.



At the IFA Global Press Conference, the organizers, gfu and Messe Berlin, have expressed confidence in their ability to continue steering IFA on a course leading to increased growth because the markets are developing.



With a new congress and its traditionally large number of new products on display, along with innovative solutions and unique new products making their world debut, IFA 2014 is again setting new standards”, according to Hans-Joachim Kamp, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu – Gesellschaft für Unterhaltungs.



Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin added : “We are already eagerly awaiting IFA 2014, and for the first time we can offer an increased area in response to the continuing high level of demand from exhibitors. With the CityCube Berlin we have not only gained 6,000 square metres of urgently needed display space, but it also creates new opportunities for meeting exhibitors’ additional requirements.”



The organizers are planning a new concept for the IFA Congress in 2014. A modern international congress entitled “IFA+ Summit” will bring together the leading minds and top executives from the fields of technology and content. In addition to addressing current issues, this event will also provide opportunities for discussions about the digital future as well as establishing new trends and encouraging new ideas. Göke continued by saying: “Just as we have pursued the long term, ongoing development of IFA, we also want to continuously expand the “IFA+ Summit”, making it a leading worldwide forum.”



Göke said this year's event will occupy around 2 percent more space than last year. In 2013, the show already straddled a massive 145,000 sqm and 241,000 visitors attended last year's show, of which 47% were international delegates.



In terms of new developments, 2014 will see the introduction of CityCube Berlin, a new 12,000 sqm space within the grounds of Messe Berlin. The 6,000 sqm upper level of CityCube Berlin will play host to Samsung, with the Korean brand moving to this new location in preference to its traditional homes in Halls six and 20.



CityCube Berlin will also host the first IFA+ summit that, according to Göke, will bring together the leading thinkers and executives from the worlds of technology and content.



In 2014 Messe Berlin expects its numerous events to attract around 30,000 members of the media from all over the world, trade visitors from more than 100 countries and provides a meeting place for key retailers, buyers, and experts from the industry and the media.



IFA is the leading global event for consumer electronics and home appliances. It is taking place from 5 to 10 September 2014 on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds (Expo Center City).



“For all its participants, from the industry, trade, consumers and the media, IFA is the most important market place for preparing for the Christmas season, when sales are at their highest. This event will again provide the markets with an effective impetus. With a new congress and its traditionally large number of new products on display, along with innovative solutions and unique new products making their world debut, IFA 2014 is again setting new standards”, according to Hans-Joachim Kamp, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu – Gesellschaft für Unterhaltungs- und Kommunikationselektronik.

 

• IFA organizers presented research on where consumer electronics sales heading in 2014 around the world:

• More households requiring multiples of appliances.
  
   


• Small domestic appliances, looking at an increased average sales value of seven per cent; this includes juicers and vacuum cleaners, previously considered luxuries in developing countries.
  
   


• Large appliances will be spotty around the world, keeping their numbers in Western Europe and North America. But Asia is looking at buying the lion’s share of home goods, more than doubling sales from last year.
  
   


• Digital camera and PC sales will continue to drop globally while a 50 per cent increase on smart phones and tablets is expected.
  
   


• Two billion personal Internet capable devices will be sold in 2014 globally, with more than half in smartphone format.
  
   


• TVs will still dominate in all sizes with a surprising statistic – the average global TV viewing time per day is three hours and 55 minutes! No surprise, then, that 20 per cent more TV sound bars will sell in 2014.
  
   


• Consumer sales are looking most promising in Asia, representing 60 per cent of the world’s population, and new found wealth will buy innovative electronic consumer goods.
  
   


• Europe has 10 times more eco-friendly, environmentally designed products than North America.
  
   


• The next big thing in the coming years will be smart wearable devices, but they still have a ways to go for the perfect fit among other personal devices.

• The most watched content provider in the world is YouTube. 65 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day. 4.25 billion videos are viewed every day with the average person that is digitally connected watching 3.2 hours of content each month.
  
   


• Facebook has 1.28 billion active accounts of which a billion are active on a mobile device. So, with 7.2 billion people living on earth 1 out of 5 are on Facebook and 80 percent are so on a mobile device.