Europe - the “save haven”
Jesting that many books on macroeconomics will have to be rewritten in the future, Dr Göke said there was a fundamental difference between the US and European markets: “In November and December, the US market for Consumer Electronics products decreased by some 27%, according to the research department of Mastercard. At the same time, for the whole year 2008, the European market for Consumer Electronic products grew by 13.6%, so there is a major difference in market development between the States and Europe. It seems we are a little bit hedged against crisis for several reasons. We had good Christmas sales last year, steady compared to 2007. Now in January, many industries in Europe are increasing wages based on talks with unions. And there is one main reason that from my point of view really gives the European economy somewhat more stability. That’s the European diversity, in terms of languages, political systems, and different focuses of industries within the economy. So what in times of steep growth hinders us from growing as fast as the united American market, provides at the same time in times of crisis, a kind of natural barrier. We are looking forward to an almost steady 2009.”

A Positive Outlook for IFA 2009
Dr Göke cited two main areas of growth for IFA 2009: IFA Home Appliances and IFA “My Media”. “We are very pleased that we are able to tell you today that this is our outlook for 2009, bearing in mind that there’s a long way to go… but the punch line is that we are very stable and are even looking forward to some growth figures”, said Dr Göke.

More than 6,182 accredited journalists from 67 countries including more than 1,332 international media representatives visited IFA in 2008. Beside national and international trade journals IFA reports appeared worldwide in 330 German dailies and 125 foreign newspapers.

A record attendance by 1,245 exhibitors from 63 countries and orders totalling 3-billion euros are proof that IFA is the world’s leading sales platform and the CE and Home Appliance industry’s number one venue for doing business. A showcase for innovation and the technology of tomorrow – coupled with a spectacular programme of entertainment events – the IFA 2008 fascinated 220,000 visitors from around the world.

IFA International – Published for the third year
In the same spirit, planning for the official international daily, IFA International, is already well under way. 2009 will be the third year of operation for the highly successful daily publication. IFA International Editor-in-Chief Richard Barnes was also present at the Las Vegas Press Conference in order to answer questions from interested parties. The publication is used as a key information base for thousands of visiting journalists, as well as tens of thousands of high level trade visitors from around the globe.

For all inquiries, please contact jooree.cho@ifa-international.org.