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Rendezvous
UHF: You mean, not while CES is
on?
Gornik: Yes. They should come
next week, after we close. It seems
unfair to me that they take advantage
of this big effort that we all
invest in to make CES very exciting
and productive.
UHF: That leads to a natural question.
Has there been any discussion with
the organizers of T.H.E. Expo about a
possible agreement?
Gornik: We have met with them
on a number of occasions, very productively
I had thought, but there
doesn’t seem to be any grounds
for agreement. We’ve really tried.
We’ve extended a diplomatic hand
to them, because we would like to
see this community under one roof.
We think it would benefit all of us.
UHF: Everyone is surely aware that the
electronics industry, including high end
audio, is very masculine-oriented — which
is a shame, because music inherently is not.
Can we say that it is a particular coup to
have a woman chairing the CEA board for
the first time?
Gornik: I think it’s a terrific thing to
have a woman, finally, at the head of
CEA. It is a male-dominated industry,
but there are opportunities we’re missing
by not appealing to the woman buyer. In
fact, CEA recently did market research
which shows that women are responsible
for the majority of consumer electronics
purchases. And certainly they are hugely
influential. To ignore women is to ignore
a huge opportunity for additional sales.
And that’s not to mention the contribution
we can make to their lives by
bringing our products to them. The
adage says that diamonds are a girl’s
best friend. Well, our market research
indicates that this is no longer true
UHF: Diamonds are dead?
Gornik: When our researchers asked,
“Would you prefer a diamond ring or a
high-definition television?” 42% chose
the ring, and 58% said they would rather
have the TV. I think retailers ought to
listen up, here, and figure out the possibilities
they’re missing by the way they
approach women on the sales floor.
UHF: So how does CEA do its part?
Gornik: In fact we’re beginning to do
that. We have a new media relations
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campaign called Technology is a girl’s best
friend. At CES 2003 we had a panel discussion,
and invited the editor of Cosmo
Girl, and a woman from the Ogilvy ad
agency, and also a woman responsible
for store layout at Circuit City. And of
course myself, and Karen Chupka, who
is vice-president of CES. We had a very
interesting, well-attended discussion
on how we can talk to women more
effectively.
UHF: The other unusual element is
that your company is relatively small —
your predecessor came from Pioneer. That’s
another coup.
Gornik: I think it’s terrific to put a face
on small business. Did you know that
77% of CEA’s members have less than
$10 million gross revenues each year? So
I think it’s great to have a person those
small companies can relate to. One of the
initiatives our board recently approved,
a suggestion of mine, is to put together
a small business council. Part of its
mission is to be an incubator for small
businesses, to help them with licensing,
copyright, channel development
for instance. Even with existing businesses,
there is a host of services we can
provide: developing good accounting,
solving human resource problems and
manufacturing problems — whatever
these small companies might need.
UHF: We’d like to touch upon the subject
of intellectual property. The content
providers — film studios and record companies
— are solidly against the initiatives
of the hardware manufacturers,
because they believe new hardware are
designed to help consumers steal their
property. But your members include
both content providers and hardware
manufacturers. That must cause quite
a debate within CEA.
Gornik: That would be an understatement!
UHF: Can you get away with saying
more than that?
Gornik: Well, it is difficult,
because we want to have successful
resolution of these issues. It’s an
ongoing process, it’s very difficult,
and we’re throwing everything
we’ve got at it to see if we can
make it work.
UHF: You were on the board of
directors back when there was also a
Summer CES, the one in Chicago. People
still talk about why that was no longer possible.
It is of course easy to say, “exhibitors
stopped coming.” But what made it impossible
to have two shows?
Gornik: Attendance had dropped, and
the big box retailers needed to have
a product introduction cycle that no
longer fit the summer show. We may
be seeing that change again, because
product introductions have increased
in frequency once again. I hear talk
about introducing a summer show once
again.
UHF: But CEDIA (the Custom Electronic
Design and Installation Association ) is here
now, in early September.
Gornik: CEDIA is here, but it addresses
a narrower range of our industry than
CES does. I believe that CES will
continue to fulfill the industry’s needs,
based on the scope it represents, and the
issue of a summer show continues to rear
its head.
UHF: There have been several initiatives
by CEA to have international CES shows,
but with uncertain success. Did they come
too soon?
Gornik: Shows in other countries? In
fact we have an initiative going in Shanghai.
We are partnering with CEBit (the
German-based international trade fair
for information technology, telecommunications,
software and services) to
have a consumer electronics show there.
I’m not sure whether it would be annual
or every two years. We have high hopes