Week-end Edition - Day 2 & Day 3 - IFA International

I FA 

international 

Official Daily News Source f or International Visitors at IFA 

Hall 3.1/103 

Hall 3.2/134 

Hall 21 / 104 

week-end edition 

Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 

Hall 21/101 

IFA 2012: Innovation Central 

Top trade pros and vendors increasingly depend on 

IFA for business deals and high level exchanges 

Steve Ager 

Group Commercial Director, 

Dixons Retail 

The world’s top trade 

professionals are back 

in force again this year 

at IFA Berlin, and the 

show’s organisers estimate 

that orders with a value 

exceeding 3.7 billion euros 

will again be placed at the 

event this year. 

For Steve Ager, Group 

Commercial Director at 

Dixons Retail (pictured left), 

IFA is not only a time when 

his teams plan for Q4, but 

also for the coming sales 

year. Ager sees IFA as a 

two-way street, where top 

CE and HA manufacturers 

communicate about their 

new ranges, but at the same 

time, it is also a golden 

opportunity to explain to 

these same manufacturers 

what works – and doesn’t 

work on the shop floor. 

Innovation is now essential. 

Living Room Lifestyle! 

Sit back and relax. IFA 

International takes you 

on a tour of the living 

room of the future. 

You’ll never have 

felt so entertained, 

enthralled, thrilled, 

or relaxed. It’s all up 

to you. From new 

“Smart” OLED, 4K, 

3D TVs through 

the coolest home 

sound gear to stress 

“Increasingly 

you have 

to give a 

customer a 

reason to 

upgrade and 

renew their 

products” 

“Increasingly you have to 

give a customer a reason 

to upgrade and renew 

their products”, says Ager, 

reflecting comments by Dr 

Rainer Hecker, Chairman of 

the Supervisory Board of the 

gfu, at this week’s opening 

press conference of IFA. 

Read our exclusive interview with 

Steve Ager from page 39 

sensing massage lounge 

chairs, you’ll get the inside 

line — From page 23 

Contents 

06 > NEWS 

17 > conference & events preview 

18 > exclusive Interviews 

23 > special feature 

living room lifestyle 

33 > SPOTLIGHT ON taïwan 

38 > Green Page 

39 > Trade News 

42 > The Diary of Miss IFA 

43 > Where to Go in Berlin 

trade news 

Greg Taylor 

Area Director 

- eReading & 

Electronics at 

Canada's Indigo 

Books & Music 

“Clearly you won’t find me looking 

at the latest products from the big 

brands because that is not Indigo’s 

area” 

See page 41 

Thought Leaders 

Minoru 

Usui 

President & CEO, 

Seiko Epson 

Corporation 

"We must strive to delight our customers 

and never forget to make them smile" 

See page 16 

Paul 

Molyneux 

President & CEO, 

Sharp Europe 

“We position ourselves as an inventor 

for society” 

See page 18

Official Daily News Source f or International Visitors at IFA 

News 

Stars Tread the Red Carpet at IFA Gala 

Global glitterati shine at the opening of the biggestever 

IFA fair 

From Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit 

to rapper and actor Curtis ‘50 Cent’ 

Jackson, about 600 stellar guests 

from politics, business, media and 

entertainment gathered at Berlin’s 

Radio Tower on Thursday night to 

celebrate the official opening of IFA 

2012. 

In what promises to be 

the most successful IFA on 

record, the 2012 Opening 

Gala festivities were a fitting 

way to kick off the world's 

largest consumer electronics 

and home appliances event. 

Senior Management from 

Messe Berlin, GFU and ZVEI 

welcomed the guests before 

singer Oceana wowed 

the audience with her hit 

song Endless Summer – 

the official theme of the 

2012 European Football 

Championship. Among the 

top artists present at the 

event, the world-renowned 

actor and singer 50 Cent 

was not only attending 

the IFA Gala, but appeared 

at IFA as an entrepreneur, 

promoting his signature 

SMS audio headphone 

range at the fair. 

German Chancellor Angela 

Merkel spoke to the 

Gala guests in a televised 

message, while Berlin 

Mayor Klaus Wowereit and 

Rainer Hecker, Chairman 

of the Board, GFU, also 

addressed the audience. 

Dr. Rainer Hecker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu mbH; Klaus Wowereit, The Governing Major of Berlin; Hans-Joachim Kamp, Member of the Supervisory Board of 

gfu; Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin (l.t.r.) 

Oceana wowed the audience with her hit song 

Endless Summer 

I FA 

international 

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6

News 

LG Unveils World-first at IFA 

LG launched the world’s 

first 84-inch UD 3D TV at 

its IFA press conference on 

Thursday. The model boasts 

UD 2160p (eight million 

pixel) resolution, which is 

four times the clarity of full- 

HDTV panels. It combines 

LG’s Cinema 3D and Smart 

TV technology, as well as two 

10-watt speakers and two 

15-watt woofers. 

The 84-inch UD 3D TV 

features LG’s Smart TV 

ecosystem that includes 

approximately 1,400 apps 

and a growing range of 

content services. Magic 

Remote offers a fun and 

intuitive way to interact 

with the TV. Other highlights 

at LG’s press conference 

included the 55-inch OLED 

“The 55-inch 

OLED TV is 

the world’s 

slimmest – at 

just 4mm thick” 

TV, which the company claims 

to be the world’s slimmest at 

just 4mm thick. This model 

boasts 4 Color Pixel (WRGB), 

which adds a white subpixel 

to the three primaries, 

providing realistic colours, 

which are extra comfortable 

to the eye from any viewing 

angle. The Colour Refiner 

enhances colour precision 

and consistency, hallmarks of 

LG’s OLED technology. 

The 55-inch OLED TV 

received the European 

Display Achievement Award 

at the EISA (European 

Imaging and Sound 

Associations) 2012 Awards. 

Other products showcased 

by LG included the Cinema 

3D Smart TV. This offers an 

array of smart entertainment, 

which is accessible through 

The 84-inch UD 3D TV on show at IFA 

LG’s Home Dashboard, a 

customisable, convenient 

way to deliver apps, games 

and shows. 

Hall 11.2 

Stand 101 

Samsung 

‘Pushes the 

Boundaries’ 

Samsung has introduced 

a range of products at 

IFA, which it claims have 

“pushed the boundaries 

of innovation”. Highlights 

of a stunning live stage 

presentation were the OLED 

TV, the Galaxy Note II, the 

Galaxy Camera and a range of 

Space Max refrigerators and 

other household appliances. 

Noting its leading position 

within the TV industry for 

the sixth consecutive year, 

the company introduced 

the 55-inch ES9500 OLED 

TV, and the 75-inch LED 

ES9000 Smart TV which has 

no need for a separate light 

Samsung’s European TV marketing director, Michel Zöller and Samsung’s charming presenter unveil “the future of TV” 

source, and offers a fast 

response time, eliminating 

motion blur. The OLED 

TV also comes equipped 

with Samsung Multi View, 

that allows two people to 

watch two different shows 

simultaneously on one full 

screen — with the ability 

to hear each programme 

separately, using Samsung 

Multi View 3D glasses with 

built-in headphones. The 

Galaxy Camera combines the 

camera and the smartphone, 

and includes 3G/4G and 

wi-fi connectivity, Internet 

browsing and access to over 

600,000 apps, running on 

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. 

Galaxy Note II Launched at IFA 

Samsung’s launch of the Galaxy Note II 

was made during a special “invitation 

only” press gathering at IFA: “IFA Mobile 

Unpacked”, held the day before the 

company’s official media event. 

The Android 4.1-powered Galaxy Note 

2 is the successor to the original Galaxy 

Note, introduced a year ago. The Note II 

is bigger, and thinner, its 5.5-inch screen 

taking it closer to a 7-inch tablet. The 

Note II screen is the Samsung 1280 x 

720-resoltion, Super AMOLED panel. 

The Advanced S Pen is another feature that 

improves on the original —“longer, thicker 

and ergonomically designed for the perfect 

grip”, according to Samsung, providing “a 

more precise, comfortable, and natural 

writing and drawing experience”. And the 

phone will alert you with an alarm if you 

leave the pen behind somewhere. 

Powered by Android 4.1, Jelly Bean with a 

1.6GHz Quad-Core processor, the Galaxy 

Note 2 will be available in the US later this 

year. 

Hall 5.1 

Stand 101 

Hall 20 

Stand 101 

www.ifa-international.org 

IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 

7

News 

Sharp Unveils World’s Largest LED TV 

“One hundred years of 

innovation” is the slogan 

for Sharp at IFA 2012, as 

the Japanese company 

celebrates a century in the 

industry. In his introduction 

at the company’s press 

conference, Herman 

Karabetyan, Vice-president 

Marketing, Sharp Europe, 

acknowledged that Sharp 

had faced its toughest 

period in its history. But he 

added that the company 

had emerged leaner and 

stronger. 

“The products we are 

showcasing demonstrate 

Sharp’s passion for 

creating innovative 

technologies that exceed 

consumers’ expectations,” 

Karabetyan said. “They 

are designed to enhance 

people's lives at home, 

work, and everywhere in 

between.” 

Large-screen TVs are at the 

forefront of the company’s 

new product range. The 

highlight is the 90-inch 

Aquos LED TV, described 

by Sharp as the largest 

LED TV on the planet. 

The TV offers 1080p, the 

highest HD resolution 

available. The full-HD 

90-inch screen has direct 

LED-backlighting, and 

offers bright 3D images, 

built-in wi-fi, and access 

to popular apps including 

YouTube, Facebook and 

Twitter. 

Hall 18 

Stand 102 

Connectivity Inspires 

Toshiba Offer 

Toshiba demonstrated a 

world of possibilities at 

its IFA press conference, 

Thursday. Of the 160 

devices on view, there is a 

sneak preview of the next 

generation Quad Full HD 

4K TVs. With an 84-inch 

screen, the Cevo Engine 

4K platform processor 

enhances sharpness, 

detail and depth. A new 

generation of Full-HD 

Smart TVs with Edge 

LED backlighting include 

built in WiFi to access the 

Toshiba Places portal, USB 

video recording and Skype 

compatibility 

among other 

connective 

features in the 

TL938/968 and 

RL938/958 

series. New 

Ultrabooks extend 

the existing range with the 

Satellite U920t running 

Windows 8, with the 

added capacity to change 

easily from laptop mode, 

with keyboard and touch 

input, to tablet mode, with 

five-finger-touch input. 

Providing the performance 

of a laptop and a tablet’s 

usability, the convertible 

Satellite U920t features 

a 31.8cm (12.5’’) wideviewing 

angle and touchscreen, 

as well as quick 

wake-up responsiveness 

and fast-boot to allow 

start-up within seconds. 

Hall 21 

Stand 101 

Loewe Offers TVs as Rare as a Stradivarius 

The Loewe Reference ID 

Thursday’s Loewe press 

conference prominently 

featured the Reference 

ID range of televisions 

which offers consumers 

unlimited customisation 

possibilities. 

“Customisation is our 

USP,” Loewe CEO Oliver 

Seidl, said. “And the 

Reference ID is the latest 

chapter in a history 

of personalisation 

stretching back to 

2005. The new models 

once again feature 

an integrated sound 

system, and we believe 

that our latest models 

define the absolute limits 

of what is possible with 

high-end products, using 

materials such as red 

spruce, the wood used 

to make Stradivarius 

violins.”Loewe is reacting 

to what the company 

sees as a growing move 

towards self-affirmation. 

“We see a very high 

demand these days for 

personalised products 

across many areas such 

as a cars, bicycles and 

even cameras, so why 

not TVs?” he said. 

Hall 6.2 

Stand 201 



9

News 

Electrolux 

Rebrands With 

Inspiration 

Electrolux this summer 

launched a new range of 

kitchen appliances under 

the Inspiration banner, 

marked by an elegant 

design informed by the 

clean lines and simplicity 

of modern architecture. 

Glass, stainless steel and 

anodised aluminium evoke a 

Scandinavian purity. 

"The Inspiration range 

represents a total rebrand 

and repositioning of 

Electrolux and 

AEG to maintain 

their right place in 

the market," said 

Keith McLoughlin, 

President and CEO 

of Electrolux at 

Thursday’s press 

conference, which 

also celebrated 125 

years of Electrolux's German 

brand AEG. To celebrate the 

Keith McLoughlin (left), Miss IFA, Jonas Samuelson, 

Klaus Wuhrl and celebrity chef Bjoern Freitag 

event, celebrity chef Bjoern 

Freitag prepared a gourmet 

luncheon for journalists. 

To maximise integration and 

kitchen configuration, the 

Inspiration range’s fascia 

are aligned vertically and 

horizontally, from ovens to 

warming drawers to coffee 

machines. This means the 

appliances line up precisely, 

whether they are installed 

side by side, stacked or 

arranged in a square 

grouping of four. 

The use of materials 

and the distinctive 

flow-line are 

carried through all 

of the appliances, 

i n c l u d i n g 

dishwashers, hobs, 

washing machines 

and dryers. 

Hall 4.1 

Stand 101 

Jamie Oliver and Philips 

Cook Up a Market First 

Cheeky UK superchef 

Jamie Oliver stole the 

show at Thursday’s Philips 

press conference, making 

a surprise appearance 

to demonstrate one of 

Philips’ headline products 

for IFA 2012 — the multifunctional 

HomeCooker 

that helps prepare as well 

as cook food. 

Bouncing on to the stage, 

Oliver explained that, in cocreating 

the HomeCooker 

with Philips, he had 

aimed “almost for antiinnovation”. 

He added: 

“I just wanted to clean up 

traditional design and make 

it beautiful. And above all, I 

wanted to make it simple.” 

The chunky, funky, cookfriendly 

result — as Oliver 

went on to prove with 

a fragrant Indian curry, 

rustled up from fresh raw 

ingredients in less than 

10 minutes — 

clearly lives up to 

Philips’ mission 

to create 

products 

that help 

to improve 

people’s 

lives. “In this 

case, helping 

busy parents 

prepare 

fresh food,” 

said Pieter Nota, 

Philips Consumer 

Lifestyle’s CEO 

UK chef Jamie Oliver demonstrates the new Philips HomeCooker 

and Oliver’s sous chef in the 

cooking demonstration. 

Described by Oliver as “an 

extra pair of hands in the 

kitchen”, the HomeCooker 

chops, stirs, steams, 

sautees, boils, 

fries and 

simmers. 

Available 

in black or 

white, it can 

be left to cook 

unattended, 

while the 

AutoStir 

stirring arm 

keeps food 

in constant 

motion for 

optimal cooking. 

It also features a 

‘cutting tower’ 

for chopping 

directly into its 

stainless steel pot. 

Philips’ other Consumer 

Lifestyle highlights include 

the 1950s-inspired Philips 

Original Radio, the Philips 

Fidelio Wireless Hi-Fi range 

and the Senseo Twist 

coffee-maker. “Despite 

the challenging economy, 

we continue to see great 

prospects,” Nota said, 

adding that the Philips’ 

rich IFA offer reflected the 

company’s “passion” for 

technology, health and 

welfare, and its consumers. 

Hall 22 

Stand 101 



11

News 

Record Attendance 

for ShowStoppers 2012 

Following on from yesterday’s announcement that ShowStoppers will produce the official press events for the next three years at IFA, 

the 2012 edition of the event was highly successful with more than 850 pre-registered journalists and 50 exhibitors. 

“It was even better than we expected,” Dave Leon, Partner at Showstoppers said. “We set new records for attendance, and despite the long lines of people 

waiting to get in, we managed to process them really quickly so no one had to wait more than a few minutes. We were also extremely pleased with the 

quality of the exhibitors with all the major manufacturers present , alongside a good range of innovative new products and companies.” 

Tosy Robotics 

Joint Stock 

Company HGST Ford 

Eton 

Corporation 

AIPTEK 

The Vietnamese 

manufacturer brought its 

range of dancing robots 

to Berlin and, according 

to International PR 

Manager Trang Pham, 

the brightly coloured 

devices are amongst 

the most sophisticated 

on the market: “It has a 

good range of different 

moves, currently around 

20, and it reacts to pretty 

much any kind of music,” 

she said. “Of course it 

prefers strong beats, 

but it dances to classical 

music as well.” 

According to Uwe 

Kremmer, Senior 

Customer Technical 

Support Engineer at 

HGST, the company’s 

G-Technology line is 

both stylish and fast: 

“If speed is what you’re 

after then the G-Raid 

with Thunderbolt 

external drive is an ultrafast, 

high performance, 

high capacity solution 

that will support the 

most demanding audio 

and video applications. 

G-Raid with Thunderbolt 

delivers double the data 

transfer rates of USB 

3.0 and is over 12 times 

faster than FireWire 800. 

Ford is known as a 

company that embraces 

in-car technology and 

at Showstoppers the 

US manufacturing giant 

was showcasing its latest 

SYNC technology: “The 

new version features 

emergency assistance, 

and we are very proud of 

the fact that its interface 

is extremely simplified 

in order to minimize 

distracting the driver, a 

hugely important aspect 

of any successful in-car 

technology,” Thomas 

Michel, Technology 

Manager for Ford Europe, 

said. 

The unique appeal of Eton 

Corporation’s products 

is that they are all either 

hand or solar-powered: 

“For more than 25 

years, Eton Corporation 

has developed and 

manufactured products 

that enable people to be 

informed, entertained 

and safe. Our vision is 

to emphasize design, 

performance and use of 

nature's energy to power 

durable products that 

will provide information, 

entertainment and 

protection anywhere,” 

Olivera Candiani, CFO 

Eton Germany, said. 

Hand-held projectors 

are growing hugely 

in popularity as they 

become ever better 

and cheaper: “The new 

MobileCinema i50S is 

a perfect boost for the 

latest generation of Apple 

iPhones - in every sense,” 

Jörg Gohlke AIPTEK 

Marketing Manager, 

said. "We believe it is 

the perfect projector 

for these smartphones 

because it incorporates 

the iPhone 4/4S like an 

extra case or a second 

skin. It has a brightness 

of 40 lumen, and it 

can project any media 

content over a distance 

of up to 150 cm.” 

mRobo dancing robot 

Eton: Portable Bluetooth Sound System 

with Solar Panel 

G-Raid with Thunderbolt external drive 

Ford Touch Control 

i50S : DLP Pico Projector for iPhone 



13

14

News 

A Unique Proposition 

Rovi forges partnership to power Dixons digital store 

Ingo Reese, Business Development, EMEA, Rovi International Solutions Sarl and Yvette Castanon, Vice-President 

Corporate Communications, Rovi Corporation 

Rovi Corporation and 

Dixons have forged a 

partnership that will result 

in the Rovi Entertainment 

Store storefront powering 

Dixons Knowhow Movies 

digital store. The Knowhow 

Movies store will offer 

a catalogue of film and 

TV video content to 

web-connected devices, 

including HDTVs, Blu-ray 

Disc players and games 

consoles. 

The service enables 

consumers to access the 

content when they want, 

where they want, including 

newly-released movies, 

which can be rented or 

purchased on an individual 

basis without subscription 

fees. Customers can access 

Knowhow Movies on up to 

five devices, switching their 

viewing between them. A 

customer can, for example, 

begin watching a film by 

tablet during the evening 

commute, then pause and 

resume watching it on their 

living room TV once home. 

“You’ve seen from the 

announcements with 

Dixons and Sainsbury’s and 

Media Markt that we have 

a strong foothold in Europe 

and we are investing in 

it,” says Yvette Castanon, 

Vice-President Corporate 

Communications, Rovi 

Corporation. “We believe 

it’s a critical market for 

digital entertainment. This 

is the year for multi-device. 

People don’t want to be 

just in their living room 

watching TV. They want 

entertainment wherever 

they are, whenever they 

want it. Rovi is very serious 

about Europe.” 

Rovi and Media Markt 

have also confirmed they 

will continue to expand 

the reach of Media 

Markt’s Video-On-Demand 

services with new launches 

of the Media Markt 

Videodownloadshop on 

connected set-top boxes. 

Ingo Reese, Business 

Development, EMEA, says 

the company is unique in 

bringing an end-to-end 

solution for VOD. 

Hall 25 

Stand 146 

“We have a 

strong foothold 

in Europe 

and we are 

investing in it” 

Growing the Grundig Brand 

Tradition and modernity can indeed go hand in hand 

We asked Horst Nikolaus, Managing Director Sales at Grundig, to talk about 

the company’s rich history in audio, developments in kitchen appliances and 

lifestyle products, and the latest TV products. 

Grundig - as a strong brand 

- is actually growing rapidly, 

with TV sales value rising 

by 114 % in the first half 

of 2012 compared to same 

period in 2011. Grundig 

ranks third in LCD/LED TV 

sales in Germany. 

This success results from 

our products because they 

combine high quality with 

intelligent, state-of the-art 

technology at an excellent 

price/performance ratio. 

Furthermore, we rely on 

strong and sustainable 

relationships with our trade 

partners, the traditional 

retailers. We constantly 

work on expanding and 

further developing these 

partnerships, especially 

within the framework of 

our trade partner initiative, 

GFI. 

Last, but not least, we 

also succeeded in creating 

high-profile visibility for 

the Grundig brand by our 

partnership with the DFL 

German Football league. 

As an important milestone 

for our continued success, 

this partnership – which 

we currently expanded 

internationally –enhances 

our popularity among the 

millions of football fans 

around the world. 

We will present at IFA the 

Grundig Bundesliga LED 

TVs, six TVs – in piano black 

design, high-gloss white 

and matt white. 

And our new Premium range 

features chrome design and 

Horst Nikolaus, Managing Director Sales at Grundig 

intelligent features such as 

passive 3D-Technology and 

smart interactive functions-- 

as well as very useful 

accessories like Skype and 

the BabyCam. 

Hall 23 

Stand 101 



15

News 

Redefining the Epson Brand 

Traditional values to drive future growth 

Minoru Usui 

President, Seiko Epson Corporation 

[ by Mark Dezzani ] 

Faced with redefining 

the Epson brand, Minoru 

Usui, Global President of 

Epson since 2008, has 

mined Japan's traditional 

technological heritage to 

create unique, groundbreaking 

products. In the 

digital imaging corporation's 

70th anniversary year, Usui 

was invited to give the 

opening IFA International 

Keynote on Friday titled 

"Becoming Indispensable in 

a Changing World." 

"Many companies are at a 

crossroads and are faced 

with the task of redefining 

their position in the world, 

and Epson is no different," 

said Usui. "Traditional 

expertise defined as 

'Takumi' – Japanese for 

the experience of the 

master craftsman – was 

instrumental in propelling 

Japanese companies onto 

the global stage in the 

second half of the 1970s. 

But the boom years have 

long since passed and the 

crisis that began in 2008 is 

threatening the once famous 

'Made in Japan' label." 

“We must strive 

to delight our 

customers and 

never forget 

to make them 

smile” 

Usui says that the key to 

post-crisis growth is to 

combine this craftsmanship 

with the modern Japanese 

concept of 'Monozukuri', 

the art of science and 

manufacturing to produce 

unique products that he says 

will be impossible to imitate. 

"We need to leverage our 

technical expertise to meet 

market needs, maintain 

in-house manufacturing 

to build our own products 

from the ground up, and 

customise our products for 

local market needs to become 

indispensable in this changing 

world." 

Amongst the innovations 

introduced by Usui is a 

40% reduction in size 

across the Epson printer 

range, innovations in 

augmented reality technology 

and robotics, wearable 

technology, and the 

introduction of wellbeing 

products. Usui revealed one 

last survive and thrive secret: 

"We must strive to delight 

our customers and never 

forget to make them smile". 

Hall 21 

Stand 103 

Running to a New Tune 

Expect to see a leaner, more agile Logitech very soon 

Bracken Darrell 

Bracken Darrell joined 

Logitech as President in 

April 2012, reporting to 

Chief Executive Officer 

and Chairman Guerrino De 

Luca. Darrell is responsible 

for manufacturing and 

supply chain operations, 

product development, sales 

and marketing, IT, human 

resources and legal. He 

will succeed Mr. De Luca in 

the role of Chief Executive 

Officer, beginning on January 

1, 2013. Mr. Darrell brings 

more than twenty years 

of experience in business 

management and brand 

management in successful 

global consumer companies 

to Logitech, They include 

including Whirlpool, Procter 

& Gamble and General 

Electric 

[ Interview by Gary Smith ] 

Bracken P. Darrell 

joined Logitech from 

Whirlpool Europe as its 

new president in April, 

and he will take over 

as CEO from Guerrino 

De Luca on January 1st, 

2013 - with Guerrino 

returning to his former 

role as Chairman. On 

the eve of his keynote 

speech on saturday at 

IFA 2012, Darrell talked 

to IFA International 

about his plans for the 

company… 

We’re launching a new line of 

products for music fans who 

live for music – people who 

want pure, undiluted music 

wherever they go. The new 

offering includes earphones, 

headphones, wireless 

speakers, and a smart 

radio. All the products are 

offered under our Logitech 

UE brand, combining 

Ultimate Ears’ heritage of 

professional sound expertise 

with Logitech’s heritage in 

wireless technology and 

design. 

What are some of the key 

products we'll be seeing 

from Logitech in this 

respect? 

The Logitech UE Boombox 

is an on-the-go speaker 

that lets you use your 

smartphone or tablet to play 

and control your music from 

up to 15 metres away. Up 

to eight Bluetooth-enabled 

devices can be paired with 

the speaker, with up to 

three connected at the same 

time. We’re also launching 

the Logitech UE Mobile 

Boombox, the Boombox’s 

ultraportable cousin and the 

Logitech UE Smart Radio 

– a dedicated music device 

that can play Internet radio, 

online music services as well 

Bracken Darrell 

President of Logitech 

as the music on your PC 

or Mac. And finally there 

are the Logitech UE 900 

Noise-Isolating Earphones 

and the Logitech UE 9000 

Headphones – they’re 

wireless and feature noisecancelling 

technology. 

Hall 3.2 

Stand 104 

16

Conference & Events Preview 

IFA 2012 International Keynotes 

Jim 

Wong 

Corporate President, 

Acer Inc. 

Noel 

Lee 

Founder and CEO, 

Monster, Inc. 

Access 

Exhibitors, trade visitors, press and VIPs 

Entry 

15 min. prior to start 

VIPs and Press: 30 min. prior to start 

“Paradigm Shifts in the ICT Trend” 

2 nd September, 10:30 a.m. 

As data and voice converge into single devices, 

all information becomes available in a mobile 

format. Will information and communication 

technologies clash or work in harmony? 

Founded in 1976, Acer ranks among the world's 

top five branded PC vendors. In 2000, Acer 

spun-off its manufacturing operation to focus 

its resources on developing technologically 

advanced, user-friendly solutions. The decision 

to support the sales of its product lines through 

specific marketing activities that best utilise 

distribution channels, has allowed Acer to 

achieve excellent results worldwide. 

"The Comeback of Great Sound 

in the Mobile World" 

2 nd September, 3 p.m. 

Noel will "explore the future of great sound" 

in his address, with a focus on what has been 

missing in music reproduction – and how new 

technologies and innovations are bringing back 

truly great audio for today’s mobile listeners, 

providing a dramatically heightened experience. 

Noel literally redefined the high-performance 

headphone category in recent years when he 

engineered and tuned the Beats by Dr. Dre 

headphone sound, and he will discuss how that 

project has set the stage for even more innovation 

in personal audio. He will also discuss how the 

worlds of fashion and high-performance audio 

are merging, helping usher in a new generation 

of headphones geared for every type of lifestyle 

that allow people to express their personal taste 

in brand new ways. 

Location 

International Keynote Area, hall 6.3 

Contact 

Patricia Schwan 

Tel. +49 30 3038 2066 

Mailto: schwan@messe-berlin.de 

Shuttle Service 

A shuttle bus service guarantees comfortable transfer 

from Entrance South / International Trade Visitor 

Reception Area (foyer between hall 1.1 and 2.1) to 

the International Keynote Area. 

Programme 

You can find the further information about the IFA 

2012 International Keynotes on: 

www.ifa-berlin.com/events 

< International Keynotes 

IFA DisplaySearch 

Business Conference 

3 September 2012 

TELEVISION BREAKS 

OUT OF THE TV 

12:30 - 17:30 PM 

Europa Room, Messe Berlin 

The IFA DisplaySearch Business Conference will explore 

consumer entertainment in tablets, smart phones, and smart 

TVs while examining the many ways to enhance TV-viewing 

experiences through companion screens. The event will delve 

into the innovative technologies being developed for this type 

of use and allow trade visitors to check out the products being 

shown at this year’s IFA exhibition. 

Key themes: 

• Consumer usage behavior of tablets, TVs, and smart phones 

• Evolution of TV services to exploit multiple screens 

• How apps change and enhance viewing 

• How the CE industry is adapting to create experiences, 

not just devices 

Session I - State of the Display Business 

DisplaySearch analysts will explore the key issues facing the TV, tablet, and smart phone 

business. Presentations will cover market forecasts for each device over the next four 

years in Europe and worldwide. 

Session II - Usage Patterns: Do Screens Compete or Cooperate? 

The session will explore the results of DisplaySearch consumer research across 14 

countries, investigating TV ownership and viewing patterns. In particular, we will examine 

how consumers are watching internet video in their homes. 

Session III - Connected and Smart TVs: Solving the User Interface Problem 

This panel session will explore how TV user interfaces and controls can be improved. 

Panelists will be from TV brands, chip makers, software, and technology and service 

providers. 

Session IV - Is TV Becoming Another App?Session IV - Is TV Becoming Another App? 

This session’s panelists will discuss which apps work well in TV, how tablets and smart 

phones can enhance the TV-viewing experience, and how these services will evolve in 

the future. 

www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 

17

Exclusive Interview 

PAUL MOLYNEUX 

In October 2011, Paul 

Molyneux was appointed 

as the first non-Japanese 

Executive Officer to 

the Board of Directors 

of Sharp Corporation. 

He was also named the 

new CEO, Group General 

Manager and President of 

Sharp Electronics Europe. 

Molyneux held a variety 

of senior management 

and leadership positions 

in sales and operations 

over the previous seven 

years. 

Sharp Europe’s 

Paul Molyneux: 

“smarter and more 

market-focused” 

SHARP 

ELECTRONICS 

A subsidiary of Osaka, 

Japan-based appliance 

and electronic 

components giant Sharp 

Corporation, Sharp 

Electronics is a leading 

producer of the LCDs 

used in everything from 

airplane cockpits to 

computers and HD TV 

sets. The company also 

markets home appliances, 

entertainment products 

(TVs, Blu-ray disc players) 

and business electronics. 

Time to Look Outwards 

Sharp takes new direction amid global restructuring 

Named as Sharp Electronic Europe’s CEO in 2011, Paul Molyneux is the first non-Japanese executive officer to have been 

elected to the Board of Directors. As Sharp faces a major global reorganisation, Molyneux gives IFA International the inside 

story on the Japanese giant’s plans for Europe… 

What is very clear, and what 

our president, Takashi Okuda 

stated in his press conference 

at the annual shareholders 

meeting, is that Sharp has 

to grow its international 

business. 

Traditionally, our business has 

been split 50:50 between 

domestic and international. 

There are 120 million people 

living in Japan and around 

seven billion globally, so it 

doesn’t make a lot of sense 

to have half your business 

centred on that one market. 

In the consumer business, 

we have two main drivers: 

one is LCD TV and the other 

is health and environment. In 

the LCD TV space, since this 

time last year we have been 

developing larger screen 

sizes — 60-inch and above. 

At IFA this year, we are 

launching a 90-inch product. 

This is a segment of the 

market that is still growing by 

over 50% a year, accounting 

“It’s all about 

technology 

delivering a 

new lifestyle” 

for over 600,000 units across 

Europe, and we command a 

60% share of that market. 

We have, in fact, been 

surprised about the demand 

for not just 60-inch, but 

also 70- and even 80-inch 

sets. This is a key driver, and 

it is where we have some 

competitive advantage. 

It’s about leveraging our 

manufacturing capabilities 

— our ability to produce 

large substrates from plants 

like Sakai. And we can 

translate that into a great 

value proposition in the 

marketplace. 

What are your goals at 

IFA this year? 

We position ourselves as an 

inventor for society. We will 

be showcasing our ability 

to manufacture very highquality 

screens and translate 

that into larger screen sizes. 

The larger the screen size, 

the more focus there is on 

the quality of the screen. 

Furthermore, for the first 

time we are giving a public 

demonstration of our 4K 

screen including the ICC 

chip, which is our version of 

glassless 3D. 

We are also showcasing our 

wireless TV proposition. With 

this, you have a control box, 

a set-top box and a screen. 

The signal is transmitted 

wirelessly to the screen, 

which gives you real flexibility 

in terms of how you position 

your TV. You can even carry it 

between rooms. It’s all about 

technology delivering a new 

lifestyle. 

We plan to launch these 

technologies in Europe 

around the end of the first 

quarter or beginning of the 

second quarter next year. 

What’s happening in 

Europe? 

Europe, as a region, is 

starting to become much 

more self-sustaining. There 

has been a big drive in recent 

years to standardise line-ups 

throughout the world and 

achieve scale. But now there 

are some interesting moves 

looking at what works in 

specific regions. And that’s 

really important. We have 

learned that, if you take a 

line-up that has been built 

and developed in Japan and 

try to apply that to the rest of 

the world, it doesn’t always 

work. 

We are learning real 

lessons about how to 

become smarter about 

our proposition and how 

to become more marketfocused. 

And that needs to 

translate into product. So 

for TV, we will be coming up 

with some new technologies, 

some different ideas — and 

the message that Sharp is 

really in the TV business in 

Europe. 

Hall 18 

Stand 102 

18


THTF Global - Increasing 

Global Reach 

Chinese giant little known in western world back at IFA to 

raise global awareness 

Honoured already with being the “Outstanding 

enterprise in promoting China’s flat-panel 

industry”, “Self-Innovated Product” and “China 

Audio/Video product technology innovation 

award”, TongFang (or THTF) Global is a major 

player on the domestic scene, and already last 

year at IFA made a splash with its global brand: 

Element. 

[ by Richard Barnes ] 

This year, THTF is back at IFA 

with a new brand destined 

for the continent – Seiki, and 

underlining the company’s 

technological prowess, a 

50-inch 4K Seiki brand TV is 

on display at the THTF stand 

(among others). 

With the largest TV 

manufacturing facility in 

Northern China, THTF Global 

has created a fully equipped 

R&D team for digital TV 

TH Lam 

President – TongFang Global Ltd. 

products, introduced an 

international, advanced R&D 

technology system and full 

testing equipment. 

Seiki TVs, just like those of the 

Element brand, feature high 

quality sound bars (Element 

features a high fidelity JBL 

sound bar). Along with the 

new Seiki brand sets, THTF is 

also demonstrating a semitransparent 

display that will 

no doubt be a hit for digital 

signage applications. 

THFT are not just here for 

the show however. “The 

reason why we are at IFA 

maybe different from the 

other Chinese brands”, 

says TH Lam, President 

of TongFang Global Ltd. 

"Other big Chinese brands 

may be here to show their 

image, but we are only here 

for the orders. So the 

product we bring 

to IFA this time is 

also 100% targeted 

to the European 

market.” 

So what is the 

biggest challenge 

for THTF in its global 

marketing? While 

the company is very 

big, it is still not well 

recognised in the 

European market. 

“The European 

market is 

complicated for 

any company”, 

says Professor Lu 

Zhicheng – Vicechairman 

of the Board 

and President of Tsinghua 

TongFang Co. Ltd. (the 

mother organisation). “It 

is very different from the 

Chinese market or the US 

market. There are so many 

different countries with 

different cultures, so we 

have come here to know 

them better, to understand 

the cultures. We are training 

our teams in order to build 

a solid foundation for our 

business. So while we 

are new to this market, 

we would like to make a 

good foundation for our 

business.” 

Seiki brand destined 

for smaller retailers 

When THTF brought its 

Element brand to IFA last 

year, targeting the larger 

retailer, the success was 

immediate, and now we 

are informed that Element 

products can be found in 

Metro retail outlets across 

the 17 countries. This year, 

Seiki is being introduced as a 

brand for provincial retailers 

and smaller broad line retail 

outlets. The strategies of the 

two brands are thus quite 

separate, targeting different 

customer groups. 

Element is already quite 

successful in the US market, 

and THTF Global plans to 

grow sales in Europe at least 

to the same level. According 

to Mickey Cho, General 

Manager of TongFang Global 

Ltd Sales and Marketing, the 

company is growing very 

fast in Europe – over 150% 

year on year: “We have 

now already a company in 

the UK, and there will be a 

new one this year in Poland. 

We will also have a major 

cooperation with a top 

Japanese brand here. For our 

overall marketing, the UK, 

France, Germany and some 

Eastern European countries 

are very important." 

While admitting that for 

them, just as for other 

TV manufacturers, the 

situation is very tough at the 

moment, THTF Global Ltd’s 

mid to long-term sales and 

50-inch 4K Seiki brand TV 

Left to right - Element President and CEO, Mike O’Shaughnessy, TH Lam, President, 

TongFang Global Ltd., and Mickey Cho, General Manager, TongFang Global Ltd. 

market share projections are 

extremely ambitious. “We 

think we can be the top 5 in 

Europe within 5 years,” says 

TH Lam, “And also for the 

worldwide market, we can 

be in the top 5 in 5 years, 

for sure.” 

To cater for this expansion, 

THTF Global, in addition to 

it’s main production facilities 

in Northern China, already 

has factories in Detroit, 

Malaysia and Poland, and 

will soon be opening yet 

another fab in China. 

Hall 25 

Stand 150 

“We think 

we can be in 

the top 5 in 

Europe within 

5 years” 


19


Havis Kwon 

Joining LG in 1980, Havis 

Kwon has held several 

important positions 

including vice president 

of PC manufacturing and 

executive vice president of 

LCD TVs. He was appointed 

CEO of the Home 

Entertainment Company in 

October 2010. 

New Era of TV 

with OLED TV 

“In the history of 

television, there have been 

very few innovations as 

impactful as the coming of 

OLED TV,” says Havis Kwon, 

President and CEO of 

LG’s Home Entertainment 

Company. “We say The 

Ultimate Display because 

LG OLED TV is truly 

above all expectations 

and beyond everyone’s 

imagination with 

uncompromising picture 

quality and beautiful 

design. This year, we plan 

to make OLED synonymous 

with LG.” 

OLED TV’s WRGB 

technology follows 

from years of R&D 

at LG, the company 

behind the world’s first 

commercialised 15-inch 

OLED TV in 2009. LG’s 4 

Colour Pixel technology 

relies on a white subpixel 

to perfect the colour 

output. Unlike LCD or LED 

displays, which require 

backlights, OLED TVs 

generate their own light. 

Furthermore, by utilising 

carbon fiber-reinforced 

plastics (CFRP) for the 

exterior, LG engineers 

were able to create a final 

product with a thickness 

of only 4mm and weighed 

only 10kg. 

“This year, 

we plan to 

make OLED 

synonymous 

with LG.” 

LG: TV User Experience 

Must Evolve 

Access to more content in the living room makes 

home entertainment a more compelling offering 

Havis Kwon, President 

and CEO at LG 

Electronics Home 

Entertainment 

Company, told IFA 

International last year 

that his mid-term goal 

was to bring integrated 

3D eco-systems into the 

mainstream. This year 

we approached Mr 

Kwon for an update… 

[ Interview by Richard Barnes ] 

The global 3D TV market 

is projected to grow to 

double the volume of last 

year by the end of 2012. 

The positive media coverage 

and sales figures show that 

LG’s CINEMA 3D Smart 

TV has contributed to this 

remarkable growth with its 

product leadership, and the 

perception that 3D TV=LG. 

Now families enjoying LG 

3D TVs at home can choose 

from a plentiful selection 

of 3D content via LG Smart 

World, regional broadcasters 

and other providers. These 

entertainment sources also 

help to grow the 3D ecosystem, 

with LG recently 

expanding its leadership by 

providing the first crop of 3D 

game apps for Smart TVs. 

3D is a key factor for 

delivering an immersive and 

exciting home entertainment 

experience. Therefore, LG 

will continue to grow 3D 

ecosystems, building on the 

momentum that we have 

gained so far. 

What trends will drive the 

TV market in the coming 

years? 

Three trends emerge for the 

short-to-medium term. First, 

next-generation displays 

such as OLED TVs and UD 

TVs will play a big role to 

push technology forward 

and expand the market. 

Second, more and more 

entertainment options will 

be available, notably 3D 

content, and also games, 

movies, locally-targeted 

VOD services and Smart TV 

apps. 

Third, the user experience 

(UX) of TV will continue to 

evolve to be more intuitive 

and easy. The latest TVs 

allow users to enjoy an 

exploding amount of video 

content and applications 

compared to conventional 

TVs. However, it seems that 

content cannot be fully 

utilised since UX is still at 

its basic level. The UX must 

also evolve as the content 

for smart TV increases and 

users’ expectation of the 

devices go higher. 

How much market share 

will OLED achieve in the 

next two to three years? 

The industry anticipates the 

OLED TV market will reach 

Havis Kwon 

President and CEO at LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company 

around 20,000 units this year 

and then grow dramatically 

to about 700,000 units in 

2013. Market share depends 

on how soon production 

stabilises regarding cost and 

equipment. OLED TVs will 

become mainstream when 

the price is 1.5 times current 

LED TV prices. 

What other areas of the 

Home Entertainment 

market are strong for LG 

and why? 

Access to a greater variety 

of content in the living 

room has made home 

entertainment a more 

compelling offering. There 

is a lot of room for LG to 

complete consumers’ home 

cinema experience with 

more advanced products 

that complement its range 

of TVs. 

For instance, an LG 3D 

Home Theater System or 

the innovative Soundbar 

add another dimension to 

the viewer’s experience with 

LG’s CINEMA 3D Sound 

technology. LG also provides 

industry-leading peripheral 

devices such as its 3D Blu- 

Ray player with built-in HD 

TV Recorder. 

Growth in the personal 

display category has also 

been impressive. Including 

its new IPS monitors, LG 

is expanding the display 

options to suit everyone 

from average consumers to 

graphics experts. 

How important is IFA as 

part of LG's marketing 

strategy? 

This year’s IFA is the perfect 

forum to remind global 

consumers that LG’s OLED 

TV really is the ultimate 

display. Aside from the OLED 

TV, IFA is a great platform to 

show LG’s advancements 

and gives consumers and 

wholesalers a hands-on look 

at LG’s integrated home 

entertainment lineup. 

20


Aiming for the Ultimate 

LG takes OLED TV technology to the next level 

Ilgeun Kwon, Senior Vice President, Head of 

TV R&D Laboratory at LG Electronics, tells IFA 

International why the industry “has never seen 

anything like” the LG 55-inch OLED TV… 


It’s what we like to call an 

‘ultimate display’. It delivers 

an unparalleled viewing 

experience, previously 

unattainable picture quality 

and a stunning design. 

The industry hasn’t seen 

anything like this before. 

You released the first 

prototype in January and 

we saw an updated model 

at the World IT Show (WIS) 

in Seoul. What have been 

the main developments in 

the interim? 

In terms of the actual 

display, the OLED TV that 

we showcased at WIS in 

May was the same as the 

one we unveiled at CES in 

January. However, the WIS 

version and the IFA 2012 

version come in three design 

options — with a versatile 

floor stand, a floating table 

stand or a perfect wall 

mount. These three types 

will be used on the models 

being launched in the 

second half of this year. 

Thanks to the incredibly 

slim design and light 

weight of our OLED TVs, 

all three designs maximise 

the immersive viewing 

experience, while offering 

various options to customers 

for their perfect interior 

design. 

What are the LG OLED 

TV’s main advantages? 

To put it simply, the LG OLED 

TV delivers better picture 

quality and design thanks 

to WRGB technology. LG’s 

four-colour pixel technology 

adds a white sub-pixel to the 

conventional RGB sub-pixels. 

By widening the colour 

range, LG’s four-colour pixel 

technology improves OLED 

pixel’s ability to express the 

colours of reality. A colour 

refiner enhances the image, 

resulting in pictures that 

are vibrant, natural and 

comfortable to the human 

eye. 

The screen also delivers a 

perfect viewing experience 

with infinite contrast from 

self-illuminating pixels 

that prevent distortion or 

loss of contrast, regardless 

of ambient brightness or 

viewing angle. 

The design includes a ‘paper 

slim’ 4mm-thick panel and 

a very light overall weight. 

This was possible because 

WRGB technology allows 

for thinner panels and the 

carbon-fibre reinforced 

plastic [CFRP] used for the 

outer shell is much lighter 

than previous materials 

and covers the rear of the 

TV seamlessly. Given all of 

these benefits, we strongly 

feel that the LG OLED TV 

offers the ultimate viewing 

experience. 

What has been the most 

challenging aspect of 

developing OLED TVs? 

The initial investment cost 

and limited production 

yield have been the main 

challenges. However, 

WRGB technology enables 

cheaper and faster panel 

mass-production than 

RGB technology. We are 

already seeing remarkable 

improvements in efficiency, 

which will only accelerate 

as production volume 

increases. Therefore, LG 

expects to have more 

competitively priced OLED 

TVs on shelves sooner than 

our competitors. 

Apart from OLED, what 

else are you prioritising at 

IFA? 

Our product line-up at IFA 

demonstrates our leadership 

Ilgeun Kwon 

Senior Vice President, Head of TV R&D Laboratory at LG Electronics 

“LG OLED TV 

delivers an 

unparalleled 

viewing 

experience, 

previously 

unattainable 

picture 

quality and 

a stunning 

design” 

in offering the optimal 3D 

experience. With cinemascreen 

design and 3D soundzooming 

technology, our 

products offer consumers an 

immersive 3D experience. 

In addition to 3D leadership, 

we can boast innovative 

smart-TV features and 

content, such as 3D game 

apps, HbbTV [hybrid 

broadcast broadband TV] 

and much easier connection 

to other devices through 

MHL [media high-definition 

link]. At IFA, visitors can 

experience the integrated 3D 

and smart ecosystem to get 

a sense of what advanced 

home-entertainment really 

means. 

How important is IFA to 

LG's marketing strategy? 

IFA is a unique opportunity 

to showcase the products 

that have been receiving 

such positive responses 

worldwide, to demonstrate 

our cutting-edge technology 

and to introduce our overall 

strategy. We are particularly 

looking forward to unveiling 

our OLED TV 

to European 

consumers 

for the first 

time since the 

Monaco PR 

convention in 

May. 

Hall 11.2 

Stand 101 

ILGEUN KWON 

Ilgeun Kwon joined LG 

Electronics in 1986. He 

oversaw the creation of 

the company’s first digital 

TV and world’s first Time 

Machine TV. As head of LG’s 

TV R&D laboratory, he has 

been closely involved in 

product development since 

2007. 

84-INCHES 

OF ULTRA 

EXCELLENCE 

Last week saw the launch 

of LG’s new 84-inch ultradefinition 

3D television in 

Korea. Priced at around 

$22,000, the new TV boasts 

four times the resolution 

of existing full-HD TVs, 

offering a clearer and more 

realistic picture. “If it was 

HD that prospered in the 

past decade, it will be UD 

technology that will make 

its way in the upcoming 

five years,” Ilgeun Kwon 

told The Korea Herald. “And 

LG plans to take the lead 

in it.” 

LG will shortly launch 

the new UD TV in North 

America, Europe, Asia and 

Latin America. 


21


Shiro Nishiguchi 

Shiro Nishiguchi joined 

the company in 1980. He 

worked in the International 

Department and in 2003 

became Director of the fast 

growing LCD TV business 

unit. Since January 2012, 

Nishiguchi-san has been 

appointed Executive 

Officer & Director, AVC 

Marketing Division at 

Panasonic. 

Smart VIERA 

grows 

Panasonic improved the 

popular VIERA Remote App 

and brings videociety and 

the App World Heritage 

Special new content to 

the TV. 

The new online video store 

videociety will provide a 

huge range of films in HD 

quality and in some cases 

even in 3D for viewing. 

Panasonic will also be 

working with the National 

Geographic Channel 

documentary on the 

UNESCO World Heritage 

List to create a special app 

in VIERA Connect Market 

to bring their breathtaking 

footage of the most 

culturally significant 

places in the world. And 

the new VIERA Remote 

App for mobile devices of 

multimedia data exchange 

succeed faster and easier 

than ever. 

Finding the Sweet Spot 

Panasonic finds strength 

in its five product design pillars 

The TV market continues to be highly competitive, with Chinese manufacturers becoming bolder, 

the Koreans very proactive and the Yen rising. Shiro Nishiguchi, Executive Officer & Director, AVC 

Marketing Division at Panasonic, tells IFA International how the company is fighting back… 


TVs have, like white goods, 

become indispensable to 

everybody’s home life. 

Within our five product 

design ‘pillars’, namely 

Picture Quality, Easy 

Operation, Networking, Eco 

and Design, we are always 

listening to the voice of the 

consumer and responding 

by providing products which 

match their needs in each 

region or country. As a 

result, through focusing on 

customer needs, we believe 

we can win the global 

competition. And in fact, 

our latest re-designed flat 

TV models have been very 

well received. 

We all know that big trends 

include smart TV and 3D, 

but what are the most 

important groundswell 

trends for you? 

In 2012, we have improved 

our products by further 

evolving the five ‘pillars’ 

that I mentioned and by 

promoting the new range 

as Smart Vieras. Our 

perennial strength is our 

hardware (Panel and System 

LSI) and software such as 

the Middleware, which is 

becoming a core technology 

for IPTV. The functions, 

services and solutions we 

are providing differentiate 

us and open the door to a 

brand new experience when 

watching and using our TVs. 

Panasonic was, indeed, one 

of the first to push 3D TV 

... firstly with active shutter 

glasses, and now also with 

some models including FPR 

technology. How do you 

see the future of 3D? 

In 2010, we introduced 

the first 3D TVs before our 

competitors. We believed 

that in the near future all 

living room TVs would be 

3D TVs, and, currently, 

it is becoming true. The 

introduction of low-cost 

FPR was to done in order 

to be able to handle the 

wide demand for 3D TV. 

Thanks to the penetration 

of 3D Digital Still Cameras 

and Camcorders, on top of 

the 3D BD software, usercreated 

3D content is also 

increasing. This leaves us 

with the expectation that 

there will still be growth 

in the future. Furthermore 

thanks to the evolution of 

our technology, our 2012 

models (both PDPs and 

LCDs) provide high picture 

quality in both 2D and 

3D – as confirmed by the 

excellent reviews we have 

had in major AV magazines. 

How important is IFA as a 

platform to promote your 

innovations to the global 

market? 

We consider IFA to be an 

important exhibition, one 

that is closely observed not 

only by European customers 

but also globally. Therefore, 

especially for promoting 

advanced technologies, we 

consider it to be unmissable. 

Accordingly this year we 

have a corner devoted to 

displaying our latest hightech 

display products and 

we hope that visitors will 

see the potential of these 

technologies. 

Panasonic introduced the 

world’s first 3D Theater 

System for the home and we 

“TVs have, like white goods, 

become indispensable to 

everybody’s home life. ” Hall 5.2 

Shiro Nishiguchi 

Executive Officer & Director, Panasonic 

have now just completed the 

world’s first 3D broadcast of 

the Olympic games, so we 

consider that we are always 

a leader in the industry. In 

the past here at IFA we have 

displayed new 3D solutions, 

namely an Interactive 3D 

System and also the world’s 

largest 103 inch glassless 

3D panel display for B2B 

use. We shall continue to 

lead with such value added 

products. 

In addition, we are also 

displaying 145” PDP with 

16 times more resolution 

than a Full HD display that 

is capable of working with 

the for the next generation 

broadcasting service Super 

High Vision (SHV). We also 

have on display the world’s 

smallest 20” 4K2K LCD 

Panel. 

Stand 101 

22

» 

Unveiled! 

TELEVISION 

AUDIO 

BLU-RAY 

HOME CINEMA 

WELL-BEING 

LIVING ROOMACCESSORIES 

lifestyle 

The Ultimate in Digital Comfort 

Emotions, entertainment and relaxation in the heart of your home – 

under the spotlight at IFA 2012 

Smart TV 

and 3D On 

the Rise 

IFA is all about making lifestyles 

easier, more convenient, more 

efficient and compelling. In this 

edition of IFA International, we 

take a close-up look at Living Room 

Lifestyle: all the elements that come 

together to make life better in the 

living room. Of course, the main 

elements include the TV and 

the sound system, but also 

such things as massage 

chairs, which are 

becoming more 

commonplace 

in homes. 

Content, and the way we watch it, are 

key drivers of the uptake of new TVs. 3D 

is slowly but surely gaining ground, and 

the dream of glasses-free 3D is now reality 

– with several brands coming to market with 

solutions, including Toshiba and Panasonic. 

Smart TV is now no longer an added feature, but 

a “must have” in virtually all new sets. 

The evolution of the TV 

Three main trends are emerging in 2012: 

• Bigger screen sizes: up to 90-inch in the 

case of Sharp’s new set; 

• Higher resolution: 4K TV is arriving (4,000 

x 2,000 pixels); 

• OLED: Organic-based technology, which 

is finally hitting the market, meaning 

stunning colours and contrast, and ultrathin 

screens. 

Which devices are most popular? According 

to GfK, the trend is still towards larger sizes 

and better features. In the first six months, 

demand for Smart TVs was particularly 

high, with sales increasing by 31 percent 

to 4.13 million. The same applies to 3D 

televisions, which now make up more than 

39 percent of all sales. For 2012 as a whole, 

GfK is predicting sales of 38 million TVs 

for Western Europe. Hi-fi and home movie 

theatre products saw sales in France and 

Germany rising, with consumer spending 

for an excellent home movie experience 

increasing year-on-year by around four 

percent. In all countries, the market for 

speakers improved, with 5 percent more 

devices sold, generating a value sales 

increase of 15 percent. Consumers are 

clearly focusing more strongly on quality 

as sound bars, which improve sound for 

the flat-screen LED TVs, continue to be 

particularly successful. 

OLED and 4K – the big 

news at IFA 2012 

Big AMOLED TVs are sure to be the stars 

of IFA 2012. Active-matrix organic lightemitting 

diode (AMOLED) represents a 

rapidly growing and highly promising 

technology for all display applications. Based 

on planned investments, NPD DisplaySearch 

forecasts that the market for such panels 

will grow nearly tenfold from 2.3M square 

meters in 2012 to more than 22M in 2016. 

4K is also known as “Ultra” HD TV – or 

UHDTV – generally 3840 x 2160 pixels (8.3 

megapixels). Images are generally up-scaled 

from Full HD, and are so clear and crisp that 

they often “appear” to be in 3D. 

More 

on the 

market: 

Over the next days, IFA 

International will be bringing 

you in-depth reports on 

the industry from GfK, 

DisplaySearch, Meko, IDC, 

Gartner and Futuresource. 

IFA International • Friday 31 st August 2012 

23

NOMADIC 

LIVING ROOM 

LIFESTYLE 

LIFESTYLE 

» 

TELEVISION 

AUDIO 

BLU-RAY 

HOME CINEMA 

WELL-BEING 

ACCESSORIES 

Hall Plan 

1 

Hall 3.2 - Stand 134 

2 


Hall 3.2 

1 

Hall 6.2 

2 

24

Special Feature 

Toshiba's Secret 

Enabling customers to enjoy new experiences that they are willing to 

invest in... through unique innovations 

Sascha Lange is Marketing Director Central 

Europe, Digital Products & Services at Toshiba 

Europe GmbH. IFA International took the 

opportunity of IFA 2012 to interview him about 

the direction Toshiba will take to differentiate its 

products in the TV market. 

[ Interview by Bob Snyder ] 

Toshiba’s motto is “Leading 

Innovation” and we have 

stood for quality and 

innovation for 135 years. We 

consider ourselves obliged 

to develop innovations 

on a constant basis and 

something that we have 

demonstrated frequently in 

the past. A good example is 

the first 3D TV to function 

without glasses (which 

simultaneously was the first 

television to boast a Quad 

Full HD panel). Alongside 

Smart TV, 4K is also an 

important trend for Toshiba 

at the IFA: we present new 

products in this category. 

Higher screen resolutions are 

increasingly in demand. In 

order to provide consumers 

with a visual experience the 

picture quality must naturally 

be right. With every display, 

the sharpness perceived by 

the viewer is dependent 

on the viewing range. 

The closer the viewer, the 

less sharp the picture. The 

extremely high resolution of 

Quad Full HD (4k) is a big 

advantage, particularly with 

large screens of over 50 

inches, because these will 

deliver an extremely sharp, 

richly detailed picture even 

at close range. You can halve 

the viewing distance with a 

Quad Full HD screen versus 

a standard full HD televisionwithout 

this having any 

effect on the perceived 

picture quality. 

The TV market has 

become very tough for all 

players. What is the secret 

to keeping profitable? 

The secret is unique 

innovations to enable 

customers to enjoy new 

experiences that they are 

willing to invest in (e.g. 3D 

TV without glasses, TV with 

Quad Full HD resolution). It 

is also important to equip 

the entire product range 

with functions that offer our 

customers added value and 

that enable differentiation 

from the competitors. An 

example is the feature “Auto 

Calibration” to adjust the 

picture automatically in a 

perfect way. 

works 1.6 times faster with 

internet-based functions 

than previous chips. In the 

high-end range we use the 

powerful processor platform 

“Cevo Engine 4K”, with 

extremely high-quality upscaling 

for superb picture 

quality. 

What are the driving 

factors for consumers to 

buy TVs today? 

In the past, televisions were 

primarily purchased in order 

to replace a broken unit. 

Today a desire to purchase 

is triggered by constant 

new developments and 

innovations, e.g. new 

technologies such as 3D, 

Smart TV functions or a 

more attractive design. 

Hall 21 

Stand 101 

Sascha Lange 

Marketing Director, Toshiba Europe GmbH 

Toshiba is known for its 

high processing capacity, 

which for TVs today is 

becoming increasingly 

important. How is this 

progressing? 

Starting from our mid-range 

models in the RL range, 

we use a new chip that 

A FORETASTE OF 4K 

Toshiba is pioneering next-gen 

picture quality with a demo on its 

stand of 4K TV. The Quad Full HD 

(4K) TVs have screen sizes up to 84 

inches, offering a genuine homemovie 

experience. The televisions 

display exceptional high-quality 

Quad Full HD images, with the 

Cevo Engine 4K platform processor 

adding sharpness, detail and depth. 

The official launch of Toshiba’s 4K 

TVs is set for early 2013. 

» HALL 21 / STAND 101 Toshiba Quad Full HD (4K) TV demonstration at IFA 

IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 25


Fostering True Innovation 

Gian Antonio Pancot - CEO - Sisvel SpA highlights his 

Group’s commitment to bringing new and innovative 

technology to the consumer electronics market 

Gian Antonio 

Pancot 

CEO, Sisvel SpA 

Throughout its growth and development, Sisvel has always 

monitored the rapid changes of the global market and the 

opportunities it has offered, characterised by strong competition 

and integration. 

At the beginning of 

2008, Sisvel foresaw 

the necessity to 

create a new entity 

by exploiting the 

knowledge and 

abilities developed 

within the company 

in previous years. 

Sisvel Technology 

was founded as a 

subsidiary of Sisvel, 

with the purpose 

of exploiting the 

group’s extensive 

technical experience 

in the consumer 

electronics market, in particular 

with the aim of implementing 

R&D programmes, developing 

intellectual property assets 

with potential market value, 

as well as assisting partners in 

defining geographical patenting 

policies based on manufacturer/ 

consumer market trends and in 

co-sponsoring R&D programmes. 

Thanks to the initial experience 

gained through working with 

standardisation bodies, a specific 

department was created with the 

purpose of coordinating research 

and development in the specific 

technological fields of home 

entertainment, mobile telephony, 

indoor and outdoor localisation, 

green technology and intelligent 

transport systems. 

In the past four years, Sisvel 

Technology’s team has been 

further strengthened with highly 

qualified professionals, allowing 

the coordination of important 

R&D projects with local and 

international entities. This includes 

the cooperation with: CSP - 

Innovation in ICT, a renowned 

local research centre of which 

Sisvel is also a shareholder; 

RAI CRIT (Centro Ricerche e 

Innovazione Tecnologica RAI), the 

national broadcaster’s research 

centre; IRT Munich (Institut für 

Rundfunktechnik); the University 

of Turin; the Polytechnic of Turin; 

the Istituto Superiore Mario Boella 

– ISMB, an entity operating inside 

the Polytechnic of Turin and 

Top-ix (Turin Piedmont Internet 

Exchange). 

Our strategic plan has led to 

the creation of a structure in 

which research and development 

represents the focal point of the 

company’s mission. Its success 

is assured thanks to its qualified 

team focused on achieving 

important results. 

With this philosophy in mind, 

Sisvel Technology developed the 

3D Tile Format project. Sisvel 

Technology is now coordinating 

and promoting this project with 

the support of its main partners 

with which it regularly takes part 

in all major international trade 

fairs. 

Sisvel Technology’s partners have 

been involved in all stages of 

the entire chain, from product 

testing to manufacturing. This 

requires a regular exchange of 

information and experiences; 

as well as close contact with 

various standardisation bodies, 

manufacturers and the market 

itself. 

With this new challenge, Sisvel, 

the sole proprietor of Sisvel 

Technology, aims to put the 

“inventive loop” concept into 

action, to valorise IP rights, and 

thus to protect and consolidate 

the results of its intensive research. 

Sisvel has been involved in the 

consumer electronics field for 30 

years and on several occasions 

has confirmed its interest in TV 

technology, starting point of its 

history which will be soon object 

of a new publication. 

In fact, it is convinced that 

research results will soon be 

successful, based on the fact 

that only the most innovative 

technologies will have a positive 

outcome on the market. 

» HALL 2.2 / STAND 113 

Gian Antonio 

Pancot 

Gian Antonio Pancot is 

the CEO of Sisvel Spa. He 

joined the Sisvel Group 

in, 2007 after almost 30 

years of experience in 

the field of Intellectual 

Property Rights. From 

1978 to 1992 he was 

the CEO of one of Italy’s 

leading patent and 

trademark companies. 

Subsequently, Mr. Pancot 

moved to Rome where 

he worked with another 

leading patent and 

trademark firm until 

assuming his present 

position with the Sisvel 

Group. 

“(...) research 

and development 

represents the 

focal point of 

the company’s 

mission (...)” 

PICK up a copy AT ifa 

or download 

at www.cleverdis.com 


27

NOMADIC 

LIVING ROOM 

LIFESTYLE 

LIFESTYLE 

» 

TELEVISION 

AUDIO 

BLU-RAY 

HOME CINEMA 

WELL-BEING 

ACCESSORIES 

Halls Plan 

1 


Hall 1.2 

1 

2 


Hall 6.1 

2 

28


All the Right Noises 

BRIC markets buy into Harman’s audio brands 

Dinesh C Paliwal, 

Chairman, President 

and CEO of Harman 

International 

Industries, tells IFA 

International about the 

new products being 

demonstrated at IFA 

— and their growing 

popularity in the 

emerging markets... 

Harman’s latest products 

reflect our reputation for 

delivering superb audio, but 

they also address the new 

mobile and digital world, 

where consumers and their 

content are never apart. 

Our compact speaker 

designs, digital amplification 

and sound processing, 

as well as our proprietary 

wireless playback solutions, 

deliver a superior experience 

and free consumers from 

the complexity and tether 

of wires. For customers who 

really want to step up the 

audio performance of their 

smartphone or tablet, we 

are expanding our line-up of 

portable products, including 

the new JBL Soundfly. It’s 

a wireless speaker system 

that’s small enough to hold 

in one hand. 

Tell us about your IFA 

presence? 

This year, we have decided 

to focus all the action on our 

IFA display, which is located 

in its familiar position at 

the base of the Berlin radio 

tower. Our belief is that 

‘hearing is believing’, so our 

emphasis is on letting our 

audiences use and interact 

with our products. Experts 

from every corner of our 

lifestyle, infotainment, and 

professional divisions are 

on hand to show visitors 

how we can keep them 

connected anywhere they 

go. 

“The biggest 

factor 

driving the 

development 

of our 

business 

is wireless 

connectivity” 

What are Harman’s main 

growth markets? 

Our sales in the emerging 

markets, such as China, India, 

Brazil and Russia, are up by 

around 30%. Meanwhile, 

our infotainment offering 

is scoring some big wins 

with the world’s leading 

automobile makers. This has 

driven our awarded business 

backlog to more than $16bn 

as we blend the loyalty 

of established customers, 

Harman’s 

Dinesh C Paliwal: 

“Our belief is that ‘hearing is 

believing’” 

such as Audi, BMW and 

Mercedes, with new market 

brands, such as India’s Tata 

Motors and China’s Geely 

Motors. 

How are people’s ways 

of listening to music 

evolving — and how 

is that affecting your 

strategy? 

The biggest factor driving the 

development of our business 

is wireless connectivity. Our 

customers want to be able 

to enjoy their favourite 

music and media around the 

home, on the go and on the 

road. We’re delivering that 

with great products, such as 

our premium headphones, 

wireless speaker solutions 

and other mobile audio 

components. We’re also 

making connectivity easier, 

with many more of our 

products now equipped 

with Bluetooth and Apple 

AirPlay connectivity. 

» HALL FGFKT / STAND 100 

PEAK OF PERFECTION 

The Project Everest DD66000 loudspeaker system 

doesn’t merely reconfirm the technological 

leadership, design aesthetic and manufacturing 

prowess of legendary Harman brand JBL — it also 

embodies the company’s passion for music. Begun 

in 2002 and completed for the company’s 60th 

anniversary in 2006, Project Everest is quite simply 

the most exquisite musical system that JBL has ever 

constructed. It delivers the highest level of musical 

fidelity, once again fulfilling founder James B Lansing’s 

vision of creating beautiful, high-performance home 

loudspeakers. 

Dinesh C Paliwal with the Everest 

DD66000 loudspeaker system 


29

LIVING ROOM 

LIFESTYLE 

The maker, famed for 

its legendary design, 

houses SoundVision in an 

elegant aluminium case, 

Loewe’s SoundVision Adds Visual Control 

Loewe SoundVision aims to set new standards 

for stand-alone audio systems. 

including six speakers of 

which two are subwoofers. 

SoundVision also features a 

revolutionary 7.5 inch touch 

display. A finger stroke is 

all it takes to enable the 

integrated Aupeo! software 

to make suggestions for 

listening to titles and artists. 

And when in use, the 

Loewe Assist remote control 

automatically enlarges 

the display. One can play 

audio from any source (for 

example, connect to the MP3 

players via USB) – without 

any installation hassle. As 

well as making networking, 

Loewe SoundVision opens 

up more options too. The 

hidden dock is compatible 

with iPod or iPhone, CDs 

will disappear into the 

drive, and WLAN and 

UPnP ensure the network 

connection. So SoundVision 

Dr. Roland Raithel, Loewe European PR 

Director, shows SoundVision’s minimalist 

design and visual display 

not only provides Loewe 

sound quality but reflects a 

unique operating concept 

in a high-quality minimalist 

design that can be adapted 

to individual style. The two 

large lateral insets and the 

polished aluminium make 

a harmonious pairing – 

the former being available 

in countless colours and 

materials, guaranteeing 

there is at least one to suit 

any mood, interior design or 

favourite song. 

Hall 6.2 

Stand 201 

Lingo Launches “Audrey” 

Digital radio accessory 

developer Lingo Limited is 

introducing a new audio 

product called Audrey, 

described by the company 

as the world’s first Bluetooth 

speaker with FM and digital 

radio highlighted by a 2.4- 

inch TFT colour display. 

This TFT panel displays radio 

information, such as radio 

station title and frequency. 

The product also enables 

the true convenience of 

a wireless connection 

and interactive two-way 

communications. 

Lingo Limited points out 

that Audrey is the first 

Bluetooth speaker to fully 

interact with an iPhone 

and Android phones. By 

downloading a free app 

called Dab Go! from the 

App Store or the Play 

Store, users can use Dab 

Go! to control Audrey 

from a smartphone 

via Bluetooth. Users 

can also see the SLS 

and broadcasted 

radio information 

from Audrey 

displayed on their 

smartphones, 

including radio 

station title, rolling text, 

channel list, volume control 

and favourites. 

Audrey – a Bluetooth speaker 

with FM and digital radio 

RETRO MEETS MODERN 

The Philips Original Radio, which debuts this week 

at IFA, takes its inspiration from a design icon — 

the classic Philetta radio, originally launched in 

1955. Combining retro design with advanced 

technology, the Philips Original Radio offers a 

range of features, including iPhone/iPad docking, 

DAB+ digital radio and FM radio. Philips’ sound 

technology not only ensures crystal-clear high 

and low tones, but also a powerful bass. And, 

with its black front, premium wooden casing and 

sturdy aluminium knobs, it also brings a touch of 

vintage glamour to any setting. 

» HALL 10.2 / STAND 101 

Classic approach: the Philips Original Radio 



Gentleman of The Press 

Laurastar’s new products aim 

to ‘re-invent ironing’ 

Back in the Eighties, Laurastar CEO Jean Monney 

met the inventor of a revolutionary ironing 

system and immediately spotted its potential. 

Thirty years later, more than 2.2 million users 

worldwide have a Laurastar at home. And, with 

new Laurastar products launching at IFA, that 

number is set to rise… 

We are launching two new innovations this 

week. The Laurastar Pulse is a new, high-end 

ironing system, which brings the techniques of 

professionals to every home. With its intermittent 

pulse steam, the Pulse ensures lasting protection 

for your favourite clothes. 

Our second new product — the Laurastar Lift — 

revolutionises the steam-generator category with 

its contemporary design, trendy colours and stateof-the-art 

patented technology. Our ambition is to 

re-invent ironing by making our products objects 

of desire. 

What are your main objectives at IFA? 

We want to find the right partners to expand 

into new markets. We sell high-end products that 

require an excellent level of service, so we choose 

whom we work with very carefully and partner 

with them for the long-term. 

» HALL 4.1 / STAND 209 

Great Outdoors 

Koubachi is presenting the outdoor 

version of its Wi-Fi Plant Sensor, available 

in the first half of October. IPx4 certified, 

the outdoor model is fully waterproof. 

The Koubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor 

literally gives plants a voice. It 

measures soil moisture, light intensity 

and temperature. Using the built-in 

Wi-Fi module, the data is sent to the 

Koubachi cloud, where it is analysed 

by the Koubachi Plant Care Engine. 

Via a free iPhone or web app, plant 

owners receive tailored advice on 

when and how to care for their 

plants. 

» HALL 15.1 / STAND 132 

The award-winning 

Koubachi’s Wi-Fi Plant Sensor 

How does Laurastar differ from its rivals? 

We are the only brand to have focused entirely on 

ironing for 30 years. This makes us true experts, 

because we direct all our passion and focus into 

making products that improve people's lives. 

Laurastar’s Jean Monney: making ironing 

products “objects of desire” 

THAT Feels Better 

Massage lounge chairs offer the ultimate 

comfort for the mind and body 

Imagine… watching your 3D Smart 

TV from the comfort of a massage 

lounge. German-based distributor 

Alpha Techno GmbH are present at 

IFA in Hall 25 with a selection of highend 

massage chairs. 

The “crème de la crème” is Sanyo’s 

HEC-DR8700, which is on show for 

the first time at IFA. The chair features 

advanced stress and stiffness sensor 

technologies that are even able to 

measure mental fatigue. The massage 

lounger’s massage promotes 

relaxation according to the stress 

level. Whole body sensor automatic 

courses include “full auto”, stiffness, 

recovery, relax and “quick” courses. 

Alpha Techno are also exhibiting 

massage chairs from Sanyo’s mother 

company, Panasonic. 

» HALL 25 / STAND 113 

The Toshiba MediaGuide 

application 

EPG APP FOR ANDROID 

Owners of Android-powered tablets and 

smartphones will soon be able to browse 

an electronic programme guide (EPG), 

switch channels at a touch, and build a 

personal selection of favourite channels and 

shows with the new Toshiba MediaGuide 

application. In addition to delivering rich 

information, flexibility and fine control, the 

app enables the sharing of selections with 

friends on social networks, browsing videoon-demand 

(VOD) services and accessing 

information, ranging from shows to actors 

to related content. 




Keeping Ahead of the Curve 

Gerdi Vogels highlights the importance of staying 

flexible in order to retain market leadership 

Gerdi 

Vogels 

CEO, Vogel's 

“Mounting 

equipment needs 

to extend the 

usability and 

experience of 

devices (...)” 

The field of TV mounting solutions and home AV furnishings 

continues to flourish and grow. But what are the key trends at the 

moment? We put the question to “the” person in the know – Gerdi 

Vogels, CEO of Vogel’s... 

Today’s consumer 

expects unlimited 

possibilities with 

new TV and 

Audio Visual 

devices. Mounting 

equipment needs to 

extend the usability 

and experience 

of devices based 

on personal 

preferences and 

needs. Our brand 

is about engaging 

consumers, moving 

them from a passive 

to active role in enhancing 

their entertainment 

experiences. 

In Western Europe we are 

seeing that more larger 

screens – even up to 80 

inches wide – are being sold. 

We also see more white 

coloured LED flat screen 

TV’s entering the market. 

For both trends, we have 

solutions available. We offer 

a wide range of large mounts 

for different screen sizes and 

weights – that both turn 

and tilt. These are ideal for a 

group of viewers. 

For light coloured TV’s, we 

have introduced a special 

high gloss white wall mount. 

We continuously need to 

be flexible to stay ahead of 

changes and to stay in the 

lead in the markets in which 

we operate. 

You have a number of 

products for iPads and 

even PlayStations. How 

are these selling, and 

how is this sub-sector 

evolving? 

The RingO tablet mounting 

system is a success and has 

been introduced throughout 

the world as planned. With 

the iPad version, we first 

targeted the APR stores 

directly, and since this spring 

we have expanded the 

distribution throughout our 

CE retail base, via our 

dedicated business partners. 

We have solutions for 

all kinds of tablets. That 

gives consumers flexibility 

and adds functionality, 

everywhere in the house and 

even in the car. 

As TVs get thinner, it is 

becoming increasingly 

important for the mount 

to be sleek as well. How 

are you adapting to the 

new flatter TV styles? 

As you may expect from a 

company like Vogel’s, we 

had already anticipated the 

new flatter TV styles at an 

early stage. In 2010, we 

introduced the first Ultra 

Thin wall mount that has just 

up to 1.4” / 3.5 cm of space 

between the wall and the TV. 

It has been very successful. 

I am very proud of the fact 

that the THIN 345 wall 

mount has become the best 

selling item for over one year 

in GFK figures in Europe. We 

are now extending that line 

with more UltraThin wall 

mounts for smaller screens 

and other colours, which can 

be seen at IFA. 

Choosing a mount can be 

mind-boggling, it involves 

choosing the right TV 

brand, screen size and 

even TV type. Can you 

tell me how your website 

caters to these issues? 

Our main role as an expert 

in this field is to help advise 

the consumer to take away 

the hassle and insecurity 

they may be feeling. Many 

years ago we were the first 

in the market to introduce 

the FlatscreenFitter. In a few 

simple steps, we guide every 

consumer to a selection of 

wall mounts that fit their 

screen and functionality 

wishes. 


Gerdi Vogels 

Born and raised in 

Eindhoven, Gerdi grew up 

in a family owned 

company called Vogel’s 

Products BV. After 

obtaining a business 

degree from 

Erasmus University in 

Rotterdam, different 

positions in the company 

included area sales 

manager for Eastern 

Europe and 

marketing sales manager. 

For the last 10 

years, Gerdi has headed 

the company as CEO. 

NEWS 

With almost 40 years 

of experience in wall 

mounts, Vogel’s can 

provide expert advice 

and a variety of products 

to enhance viewing for 

the largest flat screen 

TVs, even up to 80”! 

Turning this large TV, 

we demonstrate at the 

booth! 

Next to that a complete 

new line up of user 

packs for Vogel’s RingO 

has been introduced, 

including a new ultra thin 

wall mount with adhesive 

option. RingO is stylish 

and flexible, allowing iPad 

users to place their tablet 

virtually anywhere. 

And last but not least, 

to make it easier for 

retailers and consumers 

to find information about 

audio/visual mounts 

when they are on the go, 

Vogel’s has launched a 

mobile website. 

Vogel's RingO for the iPad 2 

and the Galaxy Tab 10.1"! 

A universal bracket system to tablets on the road to secure 

your home or office safe...the beauty of the RingO is its 

simplicity - nestled in the holder is precision machined ring 

that secures your tablet securely in a number of mounts: Wall 

Mount, vehicle owners, flexible holder and adhesive holders. 

The user can enjoy music in the bathroom, reading recipes 

in the kitchen or watching movies in the back seat of a car. 


35

spotlight on 

TAIWAN 

Region 

Taiwan Extends Global Reach 

Adapting to the new global reality 

Taiwan becomes a key brand player 

Taiwan Remains 

No.1 in Over 

12 ICT Product 

Categories 

Worldwide. 

Taiwan forms an 

indispensable part of the 

global Information and 

Communications Technology 

(ICT) industry, and business 

opportunities created 

by Taiwan’s large-scale 

manufacturing are 

being avidly pursued by 

technology firms from 

across the world. 

Taiwan’s competitiveness 

in the industry is drawn 

from its well established 

production pipeline, highly 

experienced engineers and 

strong R&D capabilities. 

According to statistics 

from Taiwan's Institute for 

Information Industry (III), 

Taiwan is top in worldwide 

market share in over 

12 product categories 

including cable CPE (96.2%), 

notebook PC (89.4%), and 

tablet devices (86.5%). 

Other product areas in 

which Taiwan has top 

ranking include WLAN NIC, 

motherboards, LCD 

monitors, IP phone, desktop 

PC, and smartphones. 

Moreover, the island serves 

as a major procurement 

center for global ICT 

companies and buyers. 

Taiwan remains the world’s 

number one producer 

of notebook computers, 

with average monthly 

production known to 

exceed 14 million units. The 

booming notebook industry, 

accordingly, has provided 

an excellent base for Taiwan 

to build up its IC design and 

display panel industries. 

What's more, the island's 

ICT sector is expected to 

keep booming through 2015 

on six kinds of globally hotselling 

electronic devices, 

namely, smartphones, tablet 

PCs, ultrabooks, smart TVs, 

e-book readers and cloud 

computing applications. 

Taiwan's ICT industry has been making the news 

over the past year with a raft of big takeovers 

and major investments. Walter Yeh, Executive 

Vice-president of the Taiwan External Trade 

Development Council (TAITRA) says that these 

seismic changes in the country's major industry 

sector have seen it evolve from an abundant 

OEM and ODM centre into a significant brand 

player on the global market by investing heavily 

in R&D. 

"The transformation in 

Taiwan's electronic industry 

from being the world's 

factory supply base for ICT 

into a key global player means 

that many of our brands 

now hold a unique market 

position and have captured 

the hearts of the customer," 

says Yeh who qualifies this 

achievement with a cautious 

note: "This new status isn’t 

good enough since global 

competition has stiffened 

with slowing markets. As a 

result, companies in Taiwan 

are extending their global 

reach and adding more 

value to their products 

through various mergers 

and alliances. For all parties 

this has created a win-win 

situation in technology, 

strategy and financing." 

Taiwan holds a dominant 

global share in more than 

10 ICT products, including 

notebook/netbook PCs, 

motherboards, wireless LAN 

equipment and routers. 

But Yeh says that longterm 

leadership in ICT must 

not be taken for granted. 

"Vast resources have been 

committed to R&D to offer 

even better products,” 

he says. “It is Taiwan’s 

persistence in innovation 

that sets it apart both in the 

industry and on the market." 

Taiwan holds 13th place 

for overall competitiveness 

according to the latest 

Global Competitiveness 

Report from the World 

Economic Forum, and ranks 

9th for both R&D spending 

and innovation. "Taiwan 

companies have the knack 

at turning many ICT dreams 

into real products to wow 

the market, and product 

branding through innovation 

is an essential step to 

maintain competitiveness,” 

Yeh says. “That also helps to 

explain why the big brands 

of Taiwan like Acer, Asus, 

Delta, HTC, Gigabyte and 

MSI all are supported by topnotch 

R&D." 

Taiwan's own major trade 

show Computex Tapei is 

organised by TAITRA and 

has set up a strategic alliance 

with IFA, where it presents 

its Taiwan ICT International 

“companies in Taiwan 

are extending their 

global reach and adding 

more value to their 

products” 

Walter Yeh 

Executive Vice-president 

TAITRA 

Press Conference & New 

Product Launch each year. 

Executives from Taiwanese 

giants such as Acer, Aiptek, 

Asus, Delta, Gigabyte, KYE, 

MSI and Thermaltake fly in 

each year to brief the media 

on their latest creations, 

branding concepts and 

marketing strategies. "It is at 

IFA where the campaign for 

Computex Taipei begins and 

where companies reveal their 

output that is being readied 

for the next quarter in Taipei. 

And it is IFA that connects 

them with the industry for 

that vital feedback so they 

can make last-minute tweaks 

to the products." 

This year TAITRA is sponsoring 

the COMPUTEX d&i awards 

winners at IFA. "Success has 

bred success and a growing 

number of Taiwan companies 

have applied to join this little 

piece of Taiwan at IFA,” Yeh 

says. “Meanwhile TAITRA 

has spared no effort to help 

Taiwan companies exhibit at 

IFA as seen in its role at the 

Taiwan Pavilion in the Taiwan 

Image Hall, that highlights 

the most exciting Taiwan ICT 

breakthroughs." 

The Taiwan External Trade 

Development Council 

(TAITRA) was founded in 1970 

to promote Taiwan’s foreign 

trade and competitiveness 

on the world market. Over 

the past 40 years, TAITRA 

has played a key role in 

the development of the 

Taiwanese economy. TAITRA 

is jointly sponsored by the 

government and commercial 

associations, and serves as 

the business gateway to 

Taiwan for the international 

business community. 

Hall 27 

Stand Taïwan Pavillon 

36

spotlight on 

TAIWAN 

Region 

Products from Taiwan 

on Show at IFA 

Taiwan CE companies 

show their innovation 

once again at IFA. 

Here are some of the 

companies and products 

you will see here… 

MobileCinema i50S 

MobileCinema i50S, 

from Aiptek, is a gadget 

especially designed for 

iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. It 

takes the form of a shell, 

which once connected 

to the iPhone, projects 

multimedia files with up to 

40 lumen brightness, at a 

quality of 640 x 480 pixels, 

with a projected picture of 

up to 150cm (60 inches). 

The device can also be used 

as a powerful battery pack. 

International Inc. was 

founded in 1997 in Taiwan. 

The company develops 

and provides digital 

imaging products including 

3D products, digital 

camcorders, pico projectors, 

tablets and digital pens for 

iPad. The German office 

of Aiptek, which opened 

in 1999 in Willich, near 

Dusseldorf, co-ordinates all 

European sales. 

Hall 3.2 

Stand 120 

The RT-AC66U WireleSS 

Router 

Asus presents the fifth 

generation of dual band 

gigabit wireless router: 

the RT-AC66U at IFA. The 

router with an 802.11accompatible 

chipset offers 

high performance and 

broad signal coverage. It 

works with a concurrent 

dual band of 2.4 GHZ and 

5 GHz for up to super-fast 

1.7 Gbps. Apart from its 

user-friendly interface and 

sufficient connection ports 

for PCs, smartphones, 

scanners and printers 

(two USB and four LAN 

ports), the RT-AC66U also 

combines the latest AiCloud 

service — Access, stream, 

share, sync — all on the 

go, with unlimited storage 

expansion. 

Asus is a worldwide leader 

in the field of motherboards 

and is in the Top 3 bestselling 

manufacturers of 

consumer notebooks. The 

portfolio of the company 

includes mainboards, 

graphic cards, optical drives, 

notebooks and tablets, 

as well as various wireless 

products and network 

components. The focus of 

the company’s objectives 

is innovation and product 

quality. 

Hall 23 

Stand 103 

Just Mobile’s Gum 

MobileCinema i50S 

Just Mobile’s Gum 

Gum, from Just Mobile, is 

a compact backup-battery 

for Apple devices. An 

aluminium shell the size 

of a chewing gum pack, 

contains a battery with the 

capacity to fully charge an 

iPhone. 

Just Mobile was founded in 

2005 to develop accessories 

to complement a “highend 

mobile lifestyle”. The 

complete range of products 

complements Apple 

products including iPad, 

iPod and iPhone. 

Hall 15.1 

Stand 129 

The Theron 

Mouse 

The Theron 

Mouse, from 

Thermaltake 

Technology, is 

the new 

g a m i n g 

accessory of 

Thermaltake 

eSPORTS. The 

Theron mouse 

has a Teflon-covered 

bottom side for quick and 

The RT-AC66U Wireless Router 

precise handling. 

Among its features are a 100 

to 5600 DPI sensor that can be 

adjusted manually; a 128-KBmemory, 

which supports up 

to 40 macro keys; and five 

game profiles, as well as two 

modes – for normal and for 

battle mode, suitable for RTS 

and FPS gaming. Depending 

on the click frequency, the 

mouse changes up to seven 

colours to indicate the 

users’ gaming speed and 

activities. Thermaltake 

Technology 

was founded 

in 1999. It 

launches 

products under 

four brands: 

Thermaltake, 

Tt eSPORTS, 

LUXA2 and 

Tt Apollos 

e S p o r t 

Professional 

Team. 

Hall 15.1 

Stand 140 

Navjack Expands into Samsung 

and HTC Product Accessories 

Simplicity and innovation 

are defining features of 

Navjack, the designer and 

manufacturer of high-end 

iPad and iPhone accessories. 

Now, the company is 

expanding its product lines 

for Samsung and HTC, and 

Navjack President Jack Chan 

says the new products will 

retain the company’s highend 

ethos. 

“Thanks to our experienced 

design and R&D teams, we 

are dedicated to offering 

distinguishing accessories 

for Apple, Samsung and HTC 

products,” says Chan. “Our 

brand spirit can be summed 

up as ‘sculpted essentials’. 

We believe every material 

contains a sculpture, and 

that our task is merely 

discovering its essence.” 

“Our advantage is offering 

distinctive protective cases 

and other 3C accessories, 

such as external speakers, 

power banks and headset 

dust caps. We are driven to 

keep designing more unique 

cases and accessories.” 

Chan says that Navjack’s 

business has developed 

well in the Middle East 

and Russia. The company’s 

main objective at IFA is to 

find suitable partners and 

to extend and develop its 

presence in the European 

market, he says. 

When asked about Navjack’s 

distribution methods, he 

stressed that the company 

trusts its distribution 

partners to promote its 

brand and products. “Of 

course, we guarantee ‘one 

region one distributor’, 

so our partners can fully 

develop their business and 

take care of their markets,” 

he says. 

Hall 15.1 

Stand 111 



37

Green Page 

HOW GREEN IS YOUR 

CHANNEL? 

“Retailers are always 

looking for persuasive 

sales arguments, and we 

believe that this is what 

we deliver with Econova’s 

sustainability features,” 

Olivier Semenoux, 

Product Manager, 

Econova Smart LED TV, TP 

Vision, says. “Therefore 

we give support to the 

entire value chain, so that 

retailers can promote 

Green features on the 

shop floor better. It’s 

our job to explicitly 

inform them about, for 

example, the advantages 

of Ambilight. It not only 

enhances the user’s TV 

experience, but also 

creates net energy 

savings at home. At 

only 3 Watts, Ambilight 

consumes less power 

than any common room 

lighting. Retailers should 

understand this and 

be able to explain it 

to their customers. So 

we regularly organize 

training sessions and 

events where we explain 

and demonstrate the 

green features of our 

TVs. It is important that 

retailers know about 

features such as the 

power meter and the 3 

in 1 stands so that they 

can offer correct and 

convincing sales advice to 

their customers.” 

Green Evolution 

TP Vision’s Green technology spreads 

through core series 

In the past couple of years, the Econova TV 

has made a big impression at IFA thanks to its 

Ecological credentials, and the techology keeps 

on evolving. IFA International talks to Olivier 

Semenoux, Product Manager, Econova Smart LED 

TV, TP Vision... 

We have further improved 

the Econova, and the fact 

that it won the EISA Green 

TV award yet again is clear 

proof of that. Our engineers 

succeeded in enhancing 

the energy efficiency even 

more despite Econova’s 

larger screen size of 

55’’ - compared to its 

predecessor’s 46’’ - screen. 

We even were able to 

enlarge the TV’s feature set 

by adding 3D and Ambilight 

without compromising on 

power consumption. 

Why is the ‘Econova’ 

concept not used in all 

Philips TVs? 

As a responsible brand, it is 

our strategy to deploy ecofriendly 

innovations in as 

many devices as possible. 

Many Green elements, 

such as energy efficient 

Ambilight and the absence 

of Hg in the TV, are now 

included in the core series 

for the mass market. 

How does the concept 

flow on to other models? 

This year’s EISA Green TV 

is the first TV featuring 

Ambilight, but we also 

use the extremely energy 

efficient Ambilight LEDs in 

other models. When we 

launched Econova 2, it was 

totally optimized in terms 

of power efficiency, right 

down to the number of 

screws needed to mount 

the TV casing and reduced 

cable length. What we 

learned from this has 

allowed us to launch more 

TVs this year with the eco 

label A+ and even A++ than 

ever before. Innovations 

in power consumption, 

plastics, packaging and 

supply chain optimization 

are deployed in the core 

range as soon as they have 

proven their industrial 

suitability at a larger scale. 

That’s normally just a few 

months later. 

Do consumers really care 

about a product being 

green? 

Our market research 

indicates that more and more 

consumers care about their 

carbon footprint. Therefore, 

sustainability is an important 

criteria in the TV purchase 

decision process. That 

consumers do care about 

Green matters is clearly 

indicated by the interest 

in the EU energy label, 

which allows consumers to 

Olivier Semenoux 

Product Manager, Econova Smart LED TV, TP Vision 

compare and consider Green 

parameters more easily when 

buying a TV. 

How is this attitude 

evolving? 

In Europe, we see a strong 

demand for sustainablymade 

and energy efficient 

TVs, and we expect the 

interest in reducing the 

carbon footprint to grow 

further. In other countries, 

the market remains more 

focussed on advanced TV 

features like 3D or Smart 

TV. But, all in all, we feel 

that things are moving in 

the right direction. 

How important has the 

EISA green award been 

for you in promoting the 

Econova TV? 

The EISA Green TV award is 

very important, and we are 

very proud that Econova 

received the EISA Green TV 

award for the third time in 

a row this year. It helps a lot 

that the TV is recognized as 

being a Green TV. 

38

Trade News 

Steve ager 

Steve Ager is Group 

Commercial Director for 

Dixons Retail. Ager joined 

the Group in October 

2008 from Tesco plc, 

where he held a number 

of commercial and 

buying roles in the UK 

and globally. At Dixons 

he works on developing 

‘group international 

relationships’ with Dixons 

Retail top 20 suppliers. 

He is part of the group’s 

executive committee 

–an international crossfunctional 

executive 

team responsible for 

the implementation of 

strategy and the day-today 

management of the 

Group's business. 

What is the 

secret to a 

successful IFA? 

Plan your visit. Plan your 

appointments. If you go 

there and you haven’t 

got a plan, it can’t work, 

because people are very 

busy. Leave yourself 

some time at the end to 

just browse the show 

because often you see very 

interesting things from 

smaller suppliers. For me 

the show is an opportunity 

for collecting intelligence 

about the market and 

my suppliers, and for my 

buyers it’s to go and see 

the products that are 

developing and to be able 

to see that all in one place 

in a very efficient way. 

Dixons Retail 

Acquires DAY-to- 

DAY Control of 

PIXmania 

Dixons Retail PLC has 

agreed to acquire the 

remaining 22% interest 

in PIXmania currently 

indirectly held by the 

founders of the business, 

Steve and Jean-Emile 

Rosenblum for € 

10 million euros in cash. 

Dixons already held a 77% 

interest in PIXmania. This 

acquisition will enable the 

Group to take full day to 

day control. 

IFA Kick-Starts the 

Next Year for Dixons 

Innovations showcased at IFA excite 

major buyers 


IFA is the heartbeat of the 

year. It comes at a very 

good time, because it starts 

the process of thinking 

about next year’s range. I 

have been in this job, and 

consequently going to IFA 

each year, for the past five 

years. 

I generally spend two days 

at the show. My team 

spends the whole time 

here. My time is made up 

of specific meetings. It’s a 

great opportunity to meet 

up with some of the leading 

lights from world’s top 

manufacturers and listening 

to what their plans are for 

next year and telling them 

what we are planning. For 

my ‘guys’, it’s the beginning 

of the planning for the new 

ranges for the next year, so 

they are into much more 

“IFA is the heartbeat 

of the year. It comes 

at a very good time, 

because it starts the 

process of thinking 

about next year’s 

range.” 

Steve Ager 

Group Commercial Director, 

Dixons Retail 

The major pan-European retail group Dixons view IFA as the beginning of their business year. Dixons 

group companies operate 1,200 stores plus online, employing 36,500 staff spanning 26 countries. 

They are market leaders in the UK & Ireland, Nordics, Greece and the Czech Republic. Steve Ager, 

Group Commercial Director for Dixons Retail attends IFA to get a grip on new product trends whilst 

his buying team select hot new products for the forthcoming year. Ager tells us how he makes the 

most of his time at IFA... 

detail and also attending 

some of the conferences 

and keynotes. 

They come back from IFA 

with the first view of what 

is happening in the future. 

After each IFA, we always 

share our views, and start 

formulating our initial 

thoughts in terms of the 

product roadmaps. In that 

sense, my year actually 

starts with IFA. 

The decision by IFA five 

years ago to include 

white goods seemed very 

brave at that time. Has it 

been useful for Dixons? 

It has been a big success, 

because while some other 

shows are good at showing 

computing or brown goods, 

there really isn’t any other 

place to go on white goods, 

and that is really useful. 

Most of my focus at IFA 



39

40

Trade News 

“Innovation 

coming through 

from suppliers 

is extremely 

important. You 

have to give 

the customer 

a reason to 

upgrade and 

renew their 

products.” 

is around white goods, 

but I will also spend some 

time on CE with companies 

such as Samsung, Sony and 

Panasonic amongst others. 

What are some of the 

more exciting trends 

in white goods at the 

moment? 

A lot of it is around product 

design, the opportunity 

to give customers better 

choices in higher spec 

products and have clear 

differentiation within a 

range. There are new 

entrants into the market. 

Alongside the traditional 

suppliers such as BSH, Indesit 

and Miele, Manufacturers 

in Korea are coming at it 

from a completely different 

angle. The white goods 

market is now coming back 

into a bit of growth and 

we have to decide who we 

think has got an edge. UK 

customers in particular are 

influenced by how cool the 

product looks. 

On the CE side, we are 

seeing bigger screens 

and the arrival of large 

size OLED. What are your 

thoughts on these? 

Customers are increasingly 

looking for bigger screen 

sizes. Now that we are 

losing the bezel around the 

edge, a much bigger screen 

size fits into the same space 

as before. Then there is 

the evolution of Smart TV 

and 3D. OLED is exciting 

and really cool. In its initial 

stages it won’t be selling in 

huge volumes, but you can 

see that it is going to add a 

new facet to a market that 

went through huge growth 

as people converted from 

CRT to flat panel. As we 

slip into a new replacement 

cycle, you need innovation 

to encourage customers to 

upgrade their TVs. 

How important is 

sustainability in your 

decision making process? 

Sustainability is always a key 

feature and a selling point 

and one of the challenges 

we face is how to get that 

over to the customer. 

In the Nordic markets and 

Germany, it’s one of the 

key features that people 

consider. In the UK we 

keep pushing it in terms of 

energy and water efficiency 

and UK customers are 

increasingly considering 

the benefits of energy 

efficiency which in itself 

leads to considerations 

around sustainability. 

In the five years you’ve 

been coming to IFA, 

what are the main trends 

that have affected you? 

I have seen a lot of 

convergence and an 

emergence of stronger 

innovation. In this time of 

recession, you have to give 

the customer a reason to 

upgrade and renew their 

products. 

One of the big challenges 

we all face, particularly in 

the UK, is that customers 

have been looking for 

value products and that 

has often limited their 

desire to buy higher spec 

products. The fact that 

there is innovation coming 

through from the suppliers 

is extremely important, and 

this is showcased very well 

at IFA. 

Currys and PC World – an important 

part of the Dixons Retail group 

THE DEAL MAKERS 

Indigo buyer, Greg Taylor, 

seeks interesting start-ups 

and bespoke manufacturers 

at IFA 2012 

INDIGO 

Greg Taylor 

Area director eReading 

& Electronics at Canada's Indigo 

Greg Taylor, Area director eReading & 

Electronics at Canada's Indigo Books & Music, 

will be attending IFA for the first time, looking 

for engaging content and the sort of stylish, 

unique products that smaller companies 

specialise in... 

Since we established our retail electronics business 

- which is focused on interesting and unusual lifestyletype 

products - part of my job is to look for devices 

that are different and original. It’s never easy to find 

those diamonds in the rough, but I am hoping that my 

first ever trip to IFA will enable me to source the sort of 

sophisticated and stylish products that Europe is especially 

known for and associated with. We already have a great 

relationship with Italian accessories manufacturer Tivoli, 

and both we and our customers love what they do, but 

we are looking to expand that side of the business, so 

that will form a major part of my mission in Berlin. Clearly 

you won’t find me looking at the latest products from the 

big brands because that is not Indigo’s area, I’m after the 

second-tier manufacturers. 

What made you decide to come to IFA? 

Mainly it was the size of the event and the dates that 

influenced me. IFA happens at a very good time in terms 

of my global travel schedule, and because I’m keen to 

minimise my long-haul business trips, IFA being in early 

September is very convenient. It’s a perfect precursor to 

my trip to China in October. I am really looking forward to 

meeting as many vendors as I possibly can. 

Dixons Shop-in-Shop Overkoopt 

How many days are you going to attend IFA? 

I’ve put aside two days for the event, followed by a further 

day to see the historical sites of Berlin. 



41

THE DIARY OF MISS IFA 

The curtain rises on World's Consumer Lifestyle event of the year 

‘‘ 

After the excitement of the opening press 

conferences on Wednesday, Thursday is the IFA 

2012 Gala Opening held in the Palais of the Berlin 

radio tower, which was lit up in IFA’s characteristic 

red for the occasion. One of my favourite singers 

Oceana was there performing Endless Summer, 

and 50 Cent was in the audience alongside a host 

of German celebrities. 

Walking down the red carpet - IFA red, of course! - I was surprised 

by the number of people who had turned out to greet everyone. 

I got a big cheer so it seemed only right to try to show my 

appreciation by blowing a kiss to the crowd 

While waiting for the stars to arrive, 

I bumped into Dr. Göke who was 

waiting for delegates 

Yesterday Max 

Conze, the 

new CEO of 

Dyson, gave his 

first ever press 

conference at 

IFA. This is one 

of the company’s 

latest products, 

a bladeless hot 

fan heater 

From Left to right: Dr Rainer Hecker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu; Raimund Hosch, CEO 

Messe Berlin; me; Hans-Joachim Kamp, Member of the Supervisory Board of gfu & Dr Christian Göke, 

Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin 

A rare moment alone 

while sheltering 

from the rain, and an 

opportunity to relax 

for a few minutes 

before the next round 

of meeting, greeting, 

visiting stands and 

introducing events 

42

HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS 

Where 

to goin 

berlin 

www.wheretogoinberlin.com 

CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE 

For Berlin locals and true connoisseurs of the city, the KaDeWe, Germany’s leading department store, is an institution and needs no introduction, but among 

the international visitors at IFA, many are still not aware of its existence. We asked Managing Director, Ursula Vierkötter to present the KaDeWe and its history... 

KaDeWe: A Veritable Berlin Institution 

The tale of Germany’s most legendary department store, 

told by its charismatic Managing Director, Ursula Vierkötter 

[ Interview by Gérard Lefebvre ] 

The 'Kaufhaus des Westens' or KaDeWe for 

short, first opened its doors in March 1907. 

Today, it is a mirror image of this city and 

its development. At the end of the Second 

World War, the crash of an American aircraft 

almost destroyed the KaDeWe. While the 

surrounding buildings on Wittenbergplatz 

still lay in rubble and ashes, reconstruction 

work on the store began immediately in an 

effort to provide encouragement to Berliners. 

Thus the traditional store had become a city 

landmark. Coming to Berlin without visiting 

the KaDeWe would mean missing the 

occasion to discover one of the most unique 

shopping experiences in Europe. It is an ideal 

place for busy business people, as it is truly a 

one-stop shop. The world’s most prestigious 

brands are present in the store to offer the 

business traveller the possibility to take home 

a gift of rare beauty. Furthermore in our sixth 

floor – dedicated to food – shoppers can dine 

rapidly and deliciously! 

What is the best way to take advantage of the KaDeWe? Could one 

establish, for example, a route depending upon whether one has one 

hour, a half-day, or a day? 

With just one-hour time I would recommend a visit to our ground floor with 

its great choice of luxury brands and the incomparable beauty department. 

There, one can get an overview over all imaginable international luxury and 

beauty brands. If one has the chance to spend half a day at the KaDeWe, 

the visit to our ground floor should be complemented by a stopover at the 

fashion department and on our brand new floor called “The Loft” which 

offers an amazing choice of all desirable shoe and accessory brands from 

September on. If there is still time left, having lunch at KaDeWe’s legendary 

fish restaurant “Der Fischkutter” is definitely a must. Having a whole day 

one should additionally take the time to stroll around the store. A visit to 

our famous gourmet department for a glass of champagne or having a 

one-hour beauty treatment in one of KaDeWe’s beauty lounges can topoff 

the visit before letting the day end with dinner and a magnificent view 

over Berlin on the 7th floor. Meanwhile, the concept of the 3rd floor has 

recently been completely rethought. An entire new world entitled “The 

Ursula Vierkötter 

Managing Director KaDeWe 

Coming to Berlin 

without visiting the 

KaDeWe would mean 

missing the occasion 

to discover one of the 

most unique shopping 

experiences in Europe! 

Loft” is being created here specifically for the 

female customer with high ambitions when 

it comes to fashion. This area will feature an 

impressive women’s shoe department that 

caters to customers’ expectations in this 

regard and carries all of the famous brands such as Bally, Burberry, Casadei, 

Chanel, D&G, Fendi, Guiseppe Zanotti, Hogan, Jimmy Choo, Kurt Geiger, 

Marc by Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Prada, Rachel Zoe, Repetto, Tory Burch, 

YSL and more. This world of desires will be complemented by an extensive 

handbag and accessories section featuring new additions such as Alexander 

Wang, Anya Hindmarch, Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade (exclusively for 

Germany), Leghilá, Michael Kors, Mulberry, See by Chloé, Tory Burch and 

also Victoria Beckham. 

Finally, you probably know the “refined” side of Berlin better than 

anyone. Could you tell us what, for you, are the “not to be missed” 

places in Berlin? 

I love the terrace at Nola's am Weinberg; it is like a chalet from the 1950s. 

It can be quite full on the weekends, but during the week – fabulous! On 

the weekend, I like a nice bike tour through the Tiergarten, which is similar 

to central park in New York. Another dreamy summer spot on the edge of 

Grunewald forest: The Fischerhütte on Lake Schlachtensee. Here I can relax and 

end the day with a proper meal at the beer garden right alongside the water. 

www.wheretogoinberlin.com IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 

43

Where 

to goin 

berlin 

BERLINMAP 

N 

S 

5 

Adagio 

Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 

Tel: +49 (0)30 258989-0 

Info@adagio.de 

Hermsdorf 

1 

Tegel 

Charlottenburg 

Wedding 

Tiegarden 2 2 

6 11 

8 4 

5 

1 7 12 

3 3 

9 

Kreuzberg 4 

Schöneberg 

1 

Metro: S+U Potsdamer Platz 

U2, S2, S1, S25 

Tempelhof 

Prenzlauer 

Berg 

Neukölln 

Berlin-Moscow 

Unter den Linden 52 

Tel: +49 30 20058968 

2 

Metro: S+U Brandenburger Tor 

U 55 S2, S1 

Dalí 

Leipziger Platz 7 

Buch 

Weißensee 

Hohenschönhausen 

Friedrichsfelde 

3 

Metro: S+ U Potsdamer Platz 

U2, S2, S1, S25 

Lichtenberg 

Waldesruh 

Entrecôte 

Schützenstr. 5 

Tel: +49.30.201 654 96 

www.entrecote.de 

Metro: U Kochstraße U6 

Pyronale 

Olympischer Platz 3 

Tel: +49 (0)30 20634 952 

Metro: S + U Olympiastadium 

S9 S75 U2 

Friedrichshagen 

4 

4 

5 

10 

Wannnsee 

Landschaftsschutzgebiet 

Kämmerei-Heide 

Lichtenrade 

Gosen 

2 Alexanderplatz 

3 Zoologischer Garten 4 Checkpoint Charlie 5 Ostbahnhof 6 Brandenburg Gate 

7 TV Tower 

8 Museum of Photography 9 KaDeWe 

10 Müggelsee 

11 Berliner Dom 12 East-Side-Gallery 

44

Where 

to goin 

berlin 

Hospitality 

Estrel Berlin: 

Everything under 

One Roof 

Under the motto “Meeting, 

Living, Entertainment – 

Everything under One 

Roof” the Estrel Berlin, 

Europe’s largest convention, 

entertainment & hotel 

complex, offers guests unique 

conference possibilities 

in its multifunctional 

Estrel Convention Center, 

entertainment on an 

international standard with 

Berlin’s most successful show, 

“Stars in Concert”, in the 

Estrel Festival Center, and a 

4-star-plus service at the Estrel 

Hotel, which is Germany’s 

largest hotel with its 1,125 

rooms and suites. Guests can 

experience the sauna and 

fitness area, the mini-mart, 

Estrel Berlin: Europe's largest convention, 

entertainment & hotel complex 

the Sixt car rental station, 

the Atrium Bar and the Estrel 

Smokers Lounge & Bar for 

nocturnal revellers and much 

more. 

“Stars in Concert” 

This live show takes its 

audiences time travelling 

through musical history, 

from Elvis to Madonna, 

from Louis Armstrong to 

Whitney Houston. Six doubles 

appear on stage in “Stars in 

Concert”, presenting only 

no.1 hits. It is not only the 

likeness of the artists to their 

idols that amazes people. 

The most impressive fact is 

the similarity of their voices, 

giving the audience the 

impression that the originals 

are actually on the stage in 

front of them. Everyone sings 

live, and the performances 

are accompanied by beautiful 

dancers and an excellent live 

band. 

Sonnenallee 225 

D-12057 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 6831 0 

www.estrel.com 

Metro: S Sonnenallee 

S 41 S 42 

food and wine while soaking 

up the ambiance and friendly 

service. 

Monday till Friday noon till 

midnight 

Saturday & Sunday 18:00 till 

midnight 

Schützenstr. 5, 10117 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 201 654 96 

www.entrecote.de 

Metro: U Kochstraße 

U6 

Bars 

Enjoy delicious French 

cuisine at The Entrecôte 

Bebel Bar & Velvet 

Room – Rocco Forte 

Hotel de Rome 

available to satisfy the most 

seasoned palate. 

Behrenstraße 37 

10117 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 460 60 90 

Metro: U Französische Straße 

U6 

Clubs 

The ADAGIO – a club 

of superlatives 

Set in Berlin’s vibrant 

downtown, the ADAGIO offers 

a quintessential urban nightlife 

experience. In a tastefully 

seductive ambience, the design 

playfully highlights details from 

past eras. Whether in the twolevel 

foyer, the baroque level, 

the gallery or in one of the 

separate exclusive rooms and 

areas, you will find whatever 

you are looking for. All of the 

rooms are romantically candlelit, 

while the diverse styles of 

past epochs combine into a 

harmonic blend. 

Restaurants 

Restaurant 

"Entrecôte" 

The Entrecôte is a mix of classic 

and modern, situated in a 

prime spot with checkpoint 

Charlie just around the corner. 

From the outside, one might 

expect a small Parisian-style 

bistro, but once inside one 

finds a charming, spacious 

establishment, with a brasserie 

feeling and a savvy combination 

of elegant style and delicious 

food. Traditional French cuisine 

awaits you in this restaurant 

specialising in delectable meat 

dishes, where you can enjoy 

Hotel de Rome's Bebel Bar has 

a stupendous view across the 

historic Bebelplatz. Stylishly 

designed in warm brown tones, 

the Bebel Bar attracts a wide 

range of Berlin night owls and 

visitors to the city. The Velvet 

Room, with its velvet covered 

walls, offers a more private 

atmosphere. The Bebel Bar is 

run like a classic American bar, 

using only the finest spirits to 

create its elegant cocktails. 

Always aware of new trends, 

the staff transform them into 

stylish new drink creations. 

Over 60 different cocktails are 

Try one of the 60 different 

cocktails at the Bebel Bar 

Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 

Tel: +49 30 25 89 890 

Info@adagio.de 

Metro: S+U Potsdamer Platz 

U2 S2 S1 S25 

Cultural 

Entertainment 

& Shopping 

The TV Tower 

The Berlin TV Tower is one 

of Berlin’s most outstanding 

attractions! The victory column, 

the German Parliament 

("Reichstag"), the central 

railway station, the "red" 

www.wheretogoinberlin.com IFA International • Saturday 1 st & Sunday 2 nd September 2012 

45

Where 

to goin 

berlin 

town hall - no alternative can 

provide an overview of the 

German capital as quickly as 

the Berlin TV Tower. In only 40 

seconds, the lift takes you to 

the panorama level at a height 

of 203 m - with Berlin's highest 

bar. Enjoy this fantastic lookout 

point, which on a clear day, 

offers a view of up 80 km in 

all directions. 21 steps higher 

in the rotating restaurant, you 

can enjoy the spectacular view 

in comfort while the city drifts 

past below. Berlin at a height 

of 207 m - a "round tour" of a 

very special kind. 

TV Turm Alexanderplatz 

Gastronomiegesellschaft 

mbH 

Panoramastraße 1a 

10178 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 24 75 75 875 

reservation@tv-turm.de 

Metro: S + U Alexanderplatz 

U2 U8 U5 S5 S75 S9 

The Berlin TV Tower 

Museums & 

Exhibitions 

The Story of Berlin 

– a first hand 

interactive history 

The Story of Berlin 

The permanent exhibition “The 

Story of Berlin” invites the 

visitor to immerse into the 800 

years of history of the German 

capital in 23 theme rooms. The 

exhibition includes multimedia 

elements and successfully 

integrates modern exhibition 

features together with 

original models and lavishly 

reconstructed historic facsimiles 

to help the visitor “feel” the 

atmosphere of the city: then 

and now. A very special feature 

and a must-see is the nuclear 

bomb shelter from the Cold 

War. It is an impressive reminder 

of the fear in the days of the 

Cold War. 

Kurfürstendamm 207-208 

10719 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 887 20 100 

Metro: S Bahn Savignyplatz 

S5 S7 S9 S75 

U Uhlandstraße U1 

Gay Section 

The Gay Museum 

As the only institution of 

its kind the Gay Museum is 

dedicated to the diversity of 

gay, lesbian, bisexual and 

trans*identified lifestyles in 

history, culture and art. The 

museum collects, stores and 

presents documents and 

witness accounts from the 

many decades of queer life. 

Alongside the permanent 

historical exhibition `Selfconfidence 

and Persistence: 

200 Years of History´, the 

museum regularly holds various 

exhibitions. 

Schwules Museum 

Admission: 5 Euros 

Opening Hours : Mon, Wed-Fri 

2pm – 6pm, Sat 2pm – 7pm, 

Tue Closed 

Schwules Museum 

Mehringdamm 61 

10961 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 69 59 90 50 

www.schwulesmuseum.de 

Metro: U Mehringdamm 

U7 U6 

Axel Hotel Berlin – 

Trendy and Tolerant! 

Axel Berlin hotel 

Following the example of 

Barcelona and Buenos Aires, the 

Axel Berlin hotel is approached 

from the same point of view: 

design spaces, in avant-gardist 

and cosmopolitan cities, open 

to the world, tolerant and gay 

friendly, with a rich history and 

an exceptional gay ambiance 

The Axel hotels are free and 

tolerant spaces in which anyone 

is welcomed, respected and 

valued without any prejudice. 

Axel is born and continues 

to grow under the aim of 

excellence in service. Axel offers 

a competitive price to quality 

ratio, which has allowed them 

to obtain recognitions such as 

the prestigious TripOut Gay 

travel Awards 2010, in the 

category of best international 

chain. Velvet, wood, areas of 

intimacy and the impressive 

spherical lamp with its reflected 

lights convey seductive warmth 

to the entire space. The Urban 

Bar Axel, with its spectacular 

columns and glass windows 

overlooking the Lietzenburger 

Strasse, stands out as meeting 

point for the trendy Berlin 

scene. 

Lietzenburger Straße 13/15 

10789 Berlin 

Tel: +49 30 21 002 893 

Metro: U Wittenbergplatz 

U1 U2 U3 

Restaurant 

Bamberger Reiter 

Elegant, glamorous but 

also cozy and intimate – all 

adjectives that describe the 

restaurant Bamberger Reiter 

in the center of old Berlin. 

German hospitality as it’s best! 

Enjoy their blend of down-toearth 

Austrian and German 

cuisine with some excursions 

in Latin and French domains 

with extraordinary value for 

your money. Their beautiful 

and romantic Wine-Garden 

and Restaurant are just as 

good for a romantic dinner 

as for a business meeting. All 

major credit cards are accepted. 

Reservations welcome. 

Regensburger Str. 7 

10777 Berlin-Schöneberg 

Tel: +49 30 749 200 90 

reservierung@ 

bambergerreiterberlin.de 

Metro: U Victoria-Luise-Platz 

U4 

46

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IFA International • 2012

Week-end Edition - Day 2 & Day 3 - IFA International

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