03.09.2020
IFA, gfu and GfK have opened the IFA 2020 Special Edition
expressing their confidence that the tech industry is ready to bounce back from
the disruption and economic uncertainties of the pandemic. They were addressing
the IFA Global Press Conference, speaking to international media who have come
to Berlin and thousands others around the world who were following the event at
the IFA Xtended Space, both live and on demand.
Jens Heithecker, Executive Director IFA Berlin, highlighted the significance and
symbolism of this year's industry gathering in Berlin: "When it comes to
doing business, nothing beats the personal connection. This is why having IFA
2020 as a real-life event is such an important sign. It is a symbol to show
that together we can look beyond the pandemic and its consequences. There is a
normal ahead, and now it is up to industry, retailers, media and consumers to
build and shape the 'normal' that is going to emerge."
Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu Consumer &
Home Electronics GmbH, organizer of IFA, added: "Because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, IFA had to be run as a scaled down event, of course, but
already we can see that this year’s Special Edition of IFA is set to be a
success. Together with our partner Messe Berlin we have built an innovation
platform that offers both virtual and the all-important real-life experiences.
The many presentations of new products here at IFA will provide important
impulses to the market just when it is needed most - in the run-up to the
period with the highest turnover across the global consumer electronics and
home appliances industry."
Peter Feld, CEO of GfK, one of the leading data and analytics companies, presented
the companies new platform “gfknewron”, which is designed to help the industry
to make the right business decisions: “We live in a world of disruption,
acceleration and data overload. This is why companies need to be able to
identify the right signal from noise – faster than ever before – and also the
reason why we transformed GfK radically to become a tech company. ‘gfknewron’
is GfK’s proprietary AI-powered software platform, which delivers fast and
actionable recommendations based on trusted data."
Providing the all-important industry and market context for this
year’s IFA 2020 Special Edition, both GfK and gfu Consumer & Home
Electronics GmbH delivered new insights on how the global Consumer Electronics
and Home Appliances market developed during the first half of 2020. The data
showed that the value of the global Technical Consumer Goods (TCG) market,
excluding North America and South Africa, fell to €306 billion during the
COVID-19 retail shutdowns. GfK’s panel market recorded a decline of 5.8 percent
for TCG global sales for the first half of 2020 (H1 2020). However, compared to
other industries, this was a relatively small decline as this market benefitted
from the opportunity to fulfil “at-home” needs and a trend towards digitization
during the lockdown.
How to join IFA 2020 Special Edition
To participate in the IFA 2020 Special Edition, registration in
advance is necessary. Registered participants will also receive access to the
IFA 2020 Xtended Space, the digital extension of the IFA 2020 Special Edition.
Please note: Due to the current situation this year we can neither
offer on-site accreditation for media representatives nor registration for
trade visitors. Therefore online pre-registration is mandatory. In order to
enable as many visitors as possible to participate on site, a query will be
made in the course of this pre-registration regarding the intended day of the
visit.
Click here to register for
trade visitors
Click here to register for
media representatives
About IFA 2020 Special Edition
The IFA 2020 Special Edition - consisting of physical live events
focusing on its B2B core functions of IFA - offers a meeting place for industry
and trade in the IFA Business, Retail & Meeting Lounges and cross-industry
innovations at SHIFT Mobility meets IFA NEXT. While these event elements are
aimed at trade visitors, media representatives can exclusively experience the
latest products and services, press briefings and the IFA keynote live at the
IFA Global Press Conference.
Health and safety is a top priority at IFA 2020 Special Edition,
which will take place from 3 to 5 September 2020 as a three-day event with a
limited number of participants in accordance with current regulations.
Digital IFA Experience
With a virtual extension - the "IFA Xtended Space" - the
physical event is complemented by live and on demand streaming of
presentations, match-making tools and digital product demonstrations. The
Xtended Space thereby is accessible for both on-site guests and all other
interested participants around the globe.