Company statements to IFA 2008
Werner Eiben, IFA representative of ARD: “The
IFA concept “ ARD – your public service broadcaster”
proved highly effective. The exemplary programmes in the exhibition
hall presented many additional benefits to trade visitors, media
representatives and visitors from all over the world, and especially
from Berlin and Brandenburg.
The volume of people was in line with our expectations.“
Cemal Seref Oguzhan Öztürk, General Manager, Beko:
“In accordance with our expectations, we experienced a very
successful IFA. It is the most important place for meeting our
customers.”
Volker Klodwig, General Manager, Bosch Hausgeräte GmbH
“HomeAppliances@IFA has been successful in creating enthusiasm
among dealers, consumers and the media for the innovations on display.
With a unanimity that I have never experienced before the trade stated
that it felt it was in good hands at IFA. And this was underlined by
the volume of orders. The appeal of this trade show is determined by
the combination of visitors from the trade and from among the ranks of
consumers.
Matthias Moschner, Marketing Direktor, De’Longhi Deutschland GmbH:
“We were carefully optimistic, but optimistic nevertheless. There
were some questions. In particular we did not know whether the trade
would accept this trade show. Now we can state that the dealers
attended and they also came to buy. Over the coming weeks our sales
staff will be taking the positive feeling created by the trade show
with them on their visits to those dealers who were unable to come to
Berlin.”
Statement by Franz-Josef Hasebrink, Chairman of the Board of EK/servicegroup:
“IFA picked the right time to widen its scope. With a strong
media presence it ensured that the subject of home appliances attracted
the attention that it merited. The very positive response, both by our
industry partners who were exhibiting, as well as by our retailers,
clearly showed that the decision to expand the range of this event was
the right one. As a result the already great expectations that we had
of IFA were even exceeded. Furthermore the introduction of
“HomeAppliances@IFA” has created a leading, new
international trade show for home appliances.“
Statement by Klaus Wührl, General Manager Electrolux Deutschland:
“We are very satisfied with our premiere at IFA. Right from the
start it was evident that IFA was being very well received as an
order-writing fair, especially by our customers, the trading partners.
We found the response in the media overwhelming too. Numerous
journalists working in radio, television and the print media showed
themselves to be keenly interested in our innovations. Against the
background of a sharp rise in energy prices there was a distinct
emphasis on the subject of “Energy-efficient home
appliances”. And we were also delighted with the reaction by the
consumers. There was confirmation from all sides that the home
appliance industry provides a wealth of diversity in the literally
“flat” world of flat screens. This was definitely a
successful start.”
Dr. Sonja Steves, ElectronicPartner GmbH: “As in
every year it has been a pleasure to be a guest and exhibitor at IFA.
This year we are particularly pleased that white goods have become a
part of the fair, following a suggestion that we had put forward. We
can confirm that the concept has been well received by the consumer. We
too can give a positive assessment of the time spent at IFA in Hall
7.1.C. Our focus on energy efficiency, combined with the presentations
of Greenpeace Energy, the Eco Institute and the Plus X Award, made it
possible for us to attract the enthusiasm of many consumers where the
topic of climate protection and energy efficiency in the household was
concerned.“
Mechthild Knopp, Manager Marketing Communications, Epson Deutschland GmbH:
“There is certainly a satisfied mood and our expectations have
been met. The visitors really are of a good quality, and many of them
have a technical interest too.”
Gerald Plischke, Director Technical Services, Eutelsat visAvision GmbH:“We are satisfied, our expectations have been met”.
Volker Müller, General Manager expert: “I
found IFA excellent. The expansion of this event to include white goods
was a success. The white goods attracted a great deal of attention in
the media and among visitors. IFA has provided a boost for the upcoming
Christmas business.
Jörg Hartmann, Senior Director, Consumer Business Germany, Fujitsu-Siemens:
“IFA is an important trade fair for us, it attracted a good
response as far as business results were concerned. In terms of its
trade visitors IFA is very international.”
Marc Kast, PR Manager, Garmin Deutschland GmbH:
“Activities at the fair certainly exceeded our expectations and
we are well satisfied. Each evening our sales team were highly elated.
There was a significant increase in the frequency of visitors calling
at the stand.”
Dr. Michael Peterseim, General Manager Grundig:
“For Grundig IFA 2008 was a thoroughly successful fair. Our
visitor numbers matched the high levels of last year, and our volume of
orders significantly exceeded that of last year. This shows that, in
the field of consumer electronics, the industry is facing the future
with confidence. The decision to include white goods at IFA proved to
be a good one. Our customers responded well to the opportunity to
examine our entire range of consumer electronics and electrical
appliances, and to place orders. This event is now finally established
on an annual basis, which more accurately reflects the development
cycles within the industry.
Mathias Brand, International Marketing Director for the Harman Consumer Group International:
“This year’s IFA was again a major success for Harman
International, meeting our high expectations. IFA provides Harman
International with the ideal platform for presenting companies, brands
and innovations to a wide public. In addition to national trading
partners, the Trade Visitors’ Centre was attended by trading
partners from more than 30 countries, who were able to see for
themselves the range of services and the new products from the Harman
Kardon, JBL, Infinity, AKG and Becker brands.“
Rolf Diehl, General Manager of JURA Elektrogeräte Vertriebs-GmbH:
“The high expectations that we had in advance of IFA were more
than met. The keen interest among consumers, dealers and media
representatives in the Jura brand vindicated the decision to exhibit
our espresso and coffee machines at HomeAppliances @ IFA 2008. It was
evident that the combined display by the three premium brand names,
Miele, Liebherr and JURA, in one hall was judged very positively by
trade visitors. For our trade visitors the highlight was the new
Signatur line with five different types of processing.”
Jürgen Wilkin, General Manager Marketing & Communications, JVC Deutschland GmbH:
“We are very satisfied with the results at IFA. This applies both
to sales to the trade as well as the number of customers who came by.
We are equally pleased with the very positive media response. IFA 2008
was definitely worthwhile for us and we are keenly awaiting the next
IFA.”
Lars Grothe, Marketing Director Kenwood: “The
inclusion of white goods has definitely increased the appeal of IFA and
is a very welcome development. Results during the fair met our
expectations in full, especially the volume of orders from
dealers.”
Luc Graré, Commercial Director, LG Electronics:
“We are very satisfied with the results at IFA 2008. We are
delighted that this year’s IFA provided us with an opportunity
for the first time to present all our product areas in a concentrated
form to a wide audience and to dealers at a single trade show. The new
concept at IFA has helped to make the fair a complete success for LG,
and this applies with regard to the upcoming Christmas business too,
and all our expectations have been met.”
Günther Sproll, Marketing Director, Product Division Refrigerators and Freezers, Liebherr-Hausgeräte GmbH:
Events during the fair were much more positive than we had expected.
Messe Berlin has really done its work well. Our sales results are very
good and our field staff are extremely satisfied. Our participation was
an experiment, but it worked and we are looking forward to the next
IFA.”
Frieder C. Löhrer, Chairman of the Board of Loewe AG:
“The very positive public response to our new items, increased
numbers of visitors, especially among our international trading
partners, and more orders than last year all helped to make IFA a major
success for Loewe.“
Dr. Norbert Kotzbauer, General Manager, Metz Werke:
“The demand is for high quality products. Specialist dealers are
pleased with the new products, for which a good demand exists. The
average volume of orders placed by each dealer is significantly higher
than in 2007, with the result that the volume of orders received at IFA
2008 has increased.”
Karin Padinger, Director Advertising, Miele & Cie. KG Vertriebsgesellschaft Deutschland:
“The trade show was very, very successful for us. Our
expectations were exceeded, and this applies to both the consumers as
well as to dealers. We created a world of enjoyment here, where dealers
could experience what Miele can offer, until well after the fair had
closed. We also share our dealers’ enthusiasm.”
Thomas Hille, CEO Navigon: “We are very
satisfied, our expectations were very great and had been met by
Tuesday. We can meet here with distributors and retailers from all over
Europe, consumers come 200 or 300 kilometres to see what we are
exhibiting. We look forward to coming again.”
Holger Feldmann, General Manager Nespresso Deutschland GmbH:
“IFA was a success for Nespresso. On our innovative stand
“Touch, Smell and Taste”, consumers and trade visitors were
able to experience what’s new in the Nespresso coffee world on a
display measuring more than 800 square metres.”
Sven Martens, General Sales Manager Consumer Products, Olympus Deutschland GmbH:
“For us IFA was excellent. A great many dealers, consumers and
journalists took this opportunity to visit the Olympus stand and to see
our new products. Our concept, focusing on the audio sector, met with a
very good response. The availability of the products on display,
including those from the imaging sector, gave dealers a head start and
ensured a flexible demand. We were also able to use our appearance at
this trade show to attract new customers, i.e. dealers from the
consumer electronics field. We had excellent feedback from profit
margin-oriented voice products, music products and the new
cameras.”
Ralf Hansen, Director Communication, Panasonic:
“A great success, we are completely satisfied with events during
the fair. The volume of orders met with our expectations, which were
set very high.”
Hendrik Köhler, Director of the Philips Consumer Lifestyle Division:
“We are very satisfied with the way things went during IFA 2008.
The new IFA concept of presenting consumer electronics and home
appliances under the same roof for the first time proved highly
effective for Philips. In addition to the traditionally strong
attendance by dealers and decision-makers from the buying departments
in consumer electronics, we noted numerous trade visitors who were
attending IFA for the first time and were ordering home appliances for
the upcoming Christmas business. The steady stream of orders from
dealers and buyers again resulted in orders amounting to the hundreds
of millions.”
Horst Nikolaus, General Manager of Polaroid:
“IFA was a major success for Polaroid. Not only did we welcome
many interested consumers to our stand but also many media
representatives. There was particularly keen interest in the Polaroid
PoGo, our mobile printer for instant pictures, which does not require
any ink.”
Thomas Wildöer, Sales Director Saeco GmbH Deutschland:
“Our impression is that HomeAppliances@IFA was a highly
successful event, both for white goods as a whole and for Saeco. We
were able to provide consumers with a preview of the way in which
various areas in the homes sector could grow closer together, and we
also had excellent contacts with dealers. And then there was the
interest by the media in IFA and white goods.”
Michael Kurpiers, Senior Manager Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics GmbH:
“This year’s IFA was the most successful ever for Samsung.
Right from the start our hall was a major attraction for visitors, and
we had the subjective impression that our hall was constantly full. We
are very satisfied with the way things went, and the proportion of
trade visitors was 25 per cent higher than last year. IFA has always
been an order-writing fair too, and this year’s successes will
exceed last year’s results.”
Frank Bolten CEO Sharp Electronics Germany/Austria:
“IFA is the industry’s major trendsetter. Despite the
difficulties of the current consumer climate, enthusiasm for the
digital lifestyle remains undiminished. We are highly satisfied with
the progress of the fair so far. We regard the expansion of the fair to
include the “white goods” sector as a revitalizing element.
The interest shown by trade visitors, journalists and consumers in this
new sector at IFA is impressive. Moreover consumers are very
enthusiastic in particular about the latest generation of ultra-flat,
large screen LCD televisions. By the halfway stage of IFA our order
books were already very full.”
Roland Hagenbucher, General Manager, Siemens-Electrogeräte GmbH:
“Our expectations were more than met. IFA was the order-writing
fair that we wanted. Our expectations regarding sales were definitely
met. This was certainly due in part to the response by all the media in
advance of and at the start of IFA. There was never been so much
interest in white goods before. The items that attracted the most
attention were our coolMedia, a combined fridge-freezer with built-in
LCD television. This appliance symbolizes the perfect combination of
brown and white goods. We will be here again next year.”
Jeffry van Ede, General Manager, Sony Deutschland GmbH:
“We are extremely pleased with the way things have gone at IFA
2008 and can look back on a wholly successful participation. The
exceptional Sony stand in Hall 4.2. met with an enthusiastic response
from consumers and visitors like, as well as from our trading
partners.”
Frank Cordes, Authorized Representative, Telering:
“The expansion of IFA 2008 to include white goods was the most
important feature, enabling us to welcome the other 50 per cent of our
dealers on our stand. Our expectations were met.”
Hiroshi Nishimura, Vice President Consumer Products Toshiba Europe GmbH:
“We observed a massive response at this year’s IFA. One
particularly positive feature that we noted was the increase in the
number of technically qualified and informed visitors to our stand,
which indicates growing interest in the new trends in consumer
electronics. We were also extremely satisfied with our sales, with our
media coverage and with the numbers of visitors. There was a very good
reaction to our innovations and product highlights such as intelligent
technology for achieving improved picture quality. It can therefore be
said that IFA 2008 was a complete success for Toshiba.”
Stefan Kühn, Vice President Sales Central & Eastern Europe, TomTom: “Our sales were what we expected. The trade visitor footfall was good too.”
Ronald Boele, Product Manager, Vogel’s:
“We had very many customers and other interested people here on
the stand, especially dealers. There were more of them than last year.
They came primarily from Europe, our main market after Germany, and
especially from France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. This has
been a good fair for us.”
Thomas Grimm, Marketing Director of ZDF: “We are
very satisfied with the response by the public to our concept for the
fair of “Creating knowledge”. The entertaining programme
with the ZDF science presenters Karsten Schwanke and Prof. Harald Lesch
met with a very good response among visitors to IFA.”