IFA 09 Press Con: 7% CE growth in Asia vs. 4% worldwide
- Miss IFA, the symbol of IFA, hosted 300 journalists from 45 countries to a 3-day press con in Malta.
- What are the Chinese buying more compared to other Asian nations? This chart reveals it all.
T&A/SHOWCASE: The organizers for the IFA consumer electronics trade fair, held every year in Berlin, Germany in September hosted an international press conference for 300 journalists from 45 countries in Malta last week.
Held over three days from 16-19 April at the Hilton Hotel in Malta, the conference saw research firm GfK Asia projecting a total technical consumer equipment (TCE) expenditure year-on-year growth rate of 7% in Asia (including China and Japan) as opposed to just 4% worldwide for 2009.
GfK also projected a zero growth rate for TCE in Europe and a negative 3% decline in North America. Huge markets like South America, Middle-East, Africa and Asia remain the bright spots in an otherwise somber forecast.
Here’s a video summary of what happened at the IFA 2009 International Press Conference in Malta:
At the press conference itself, Miss IFA, the fiery red-dressed symbolism of all things IFA, hosted the journalists to several demos by brands like Philips, Panasonic, Siemens, Miele, Sharp and Bosch at the hotel lobby, an introduction into the beautiful island of Malta and of course, kickstarting the press conference where both organizers, gfu and Messe Berlin, were on hand to share what journalists can expect at the upcoming IFA 2009 show this year.
Takeaways from the conference include 99% booth space rented relative to this time last year and same-size booth spaces among returning brands like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, Sharp and so on. The successful 6-hall digital home appliance segment featuring brands like Miele, Bosch, Siemens and so on, which debuted in last year’s show, will also make a comeback. It was also unveiled that Scottish singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald will perform at the IFA 2009 Opening Gala concert in Berlin.
Check out some of the images from both the press conference and the slides presented at the conference:
- IFA hostesses received journalists and guests at the airport in Malta.
- Miss IFA, the trademark symbol of IFA, hosted 300 journalists from 45 countries to a 3-day press conference in Malta.
- Steven Kaiser, Commercial Director, Consumer Electronics, Asia was on hand to share how Asian tech companies and consumers will weather the crisis over the coming year.
- Some 300 journalists (30 more than last year) from 45 countries (3 more from last year) attended the press conference in Malta.
- Dr. Rainer Hecker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IFA's organizer gfu, identified trends like eco-friendly and slimmer sub-9mm thick HDTVs, LED-backlit LCDs and 3D content on Blu-ray Discs as some of the potential key highlights of IFA 2009.
- Dr. Christian Goke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin, explains why IFA 2009 will remain one of the biggest consumer electronics tradeshows in the world.
- Mr. Juergen Boyny, Global Director for CE from GfK, explained that categories like laptops, LCD TVs and mobile/smartphones will continue to drive the technical consumer electronics market with countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) being the fastest growing.
- The closing panel for the conference consisted of established journalists and analysts from different parts of the world.
- The floorplan for IFA 2009 will remain relatively the same as last year with six halls dedicated to digital home appliance.
- GfK expects this year's global technical consumer electronics expenditures to grow by 4% over 2008's after years of double-digit growth.
- The chart above reflects where exactly this growth will come from, primarily South America, Middle East/Africa and Asia/Oceania. For the first time in five years, both Europe and North America is forecast to reflect either zero or negative growth.
- GfK expects highly reduced growth rates from the three main product groups, which are LCD TVs, notebooks and mobile phones/smartphones. In 2008, these three product groups contributed about 60% of total market expenditure for consumer electronics worldwide.
- The major domestic appliance market last year was estimated at about US$161 billion, with majority shares in Cooling (refrigerators), washing machines, cookers/ovens and dishwashers.
- For smaller domestic appliances though, GfK puts the estimate at about US$48.6 billion, with majority shares in vacuum cleaners, personal care (grooming), beverage (coffee making machines) and food preparation.
- Expenditures for consumer electronics in Asia is expected to grow by 7% in 2009, compared to 13-16% growth in previous years, which isn't as bad when compared to the global growth rate of just 4%.
- Divided by region, the eleven Asian/Oceania nations excluding China and Japan will drive 2009's growth in consumer electronics units sold by 10%, compared to 12% in 2008. While Japan will improve despite being in negative territory, China is forecast to see a major decline from 9% in 2008 to just 1% growth in 2009.
- Similar to global trends, Asian markets saw major buying demand for notebooks, LCD TVs and plasma TVs in 2008. However, demand for all groups will soften in 2009, GfK expects growth in areas like MP3/4 players and declines in mobile phones/smartphones.
- What are the Chinese buying more compared to other Asian nations? This chart reveals it all.
