Despite the tough economic conditions being experienced in the UK and across Europe, the annual IFA consumer electronics show is expected to grow in both exhibition scale and number of visitors, according to the IFA’s Executive Director, Jens Heithecker.
“It’s a surprise that despite the landscape in the market, we will grow again this year,” said Jens Heithecker in an interview with reporters at the IFA Global Press Conference on Sunday. “If you look inside the show, it’s not an easy growth. We have some exhibitors that are going out of market and some are getting smaller because they are under heavy pressure. But still, different exhibitors will have a lot of different shapes.”
Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin, said earlier at the IFA Global Press Conference that there will be more product premieres than ever before at the five-day IFA starting 6th September 2013 in Berlin with over 1,000 taking place last year. The number of visitors is also expected to grow 1.5 percent this year compared to 2012.
Last year’s IFA drew 142,300 visitors from around the world, up 7 percent from the previous year, and the number of exhibiting companies totalled 1,439.
