Beyond Europe

The convergence of electrical home appliances (popularly called white goods)

and consumer electronics now has an official stamp. The worlds most important

consumer electronics exhibition and event has, for the first time, included home

appliances in the 2008 version of the show. IFA 2008to be held in Berlin from

29 August to 3 September 2008will have participants from the home appliances

space. The organizer of the event, Messe Berlin, expects that these companies

will occupy more than one-fourth of the exhibition space in the first year

itself.

Messe Berlin, which announced its plans for IFA 2008 in an international

press conference attended by more than 200 journalists from across the world,

organized in the picturesque Spanish island of Mallorca, was confident that the

event would do well to integrate the two seemingly distinct segments which have

been integrating in terms of technology, as well, in the views of the ultimate

decision makerthe consumer.

Appliances apart, IFA has been the only show in this side of the Atlantic

that so effectively addresses the interest of both the retail consumersfor whom

it is the biggest show on earthand the trade visitors. According to the

organizers, as many as 1,212 exhibitors participated in 2007, up from 1,049 a

year back.

In the international press conference in Mallorca, Spain, some IFA exhibitors displayed their products. Seen here is a model displaying Philips Active Crystal a range of products such as flash memory drivewhich the electronics company has introduced in partnership with Swarovski

While Europe still counts for the lions share, Asian trade visitors have now

turned to the event in a big way. In 2007 alone, their number increased by more

than 60%. IFA, CES in Las Vegas and CEATEC in Japan have been the three large

consumer electronics shows.

With Asia now becoming the largest market for consumer electronics, many

observers feel the future of these events will be determined to a great extent

on how they attract non-Japanese Asian visitors and exhibitors.

In terms of exhibitors, Asia has already made a mark. In 2007 as many as 270

Chinese electronic companies exhibited in IFA. That excludes 63 companies from

Hong Kong. Taiwan had its own share with some 115 exhibitors. Koreas share was

57. That is more than 500 participants. This shows the seriousness attached to

the event by Asian consumer electronics companies.

India, of course, is way behind. Last year, only two electronics companies

participated in the showVideocon and Moser Baer.

In the international press conference though, India and China got some good

reference. In a panel discussion of top US tech editors (PC World, eWeek, and

CBS News) on what was aptly titled Thinking Globally, most participants agreed

that the mobile explosion in India and China, and the fall of the dollar would

together set a new trend in global consumer electronics. Many said they would

not be surprised if innovations in the mobile space come from these two markets.

So, will the mobile phenomenon upset the consumer electronics equation? Will

Asia increasingly play an important role in defining the technology trends? Will

consumer electronics and home appliances markets merge? are there new giants on

the making? Many questions. IFA 2008 may well provide some of the answers.

Shyamanuja Das



shyamanujad@cybermedia.co.in


The author was hosted in Spain