‘Here for the Long Run,’ IFA Organizers Say of new CE China Show

It’s “not that easy” staging a tech show in China, “so we took our time,” said Christian Goke, CEO of IFA organizer Messe Berlin, at a Sunday news conference in Hong Kong on the eve of the IFA-produced inaugural CE China show in Shenzhen (see 1511250013). “We will see where the journey goes and where the path leads us,” Goke said. “We want to duplicate the IFA approach. We have turned IFA around over the last decade, which has given us time to get a better understanding of what we want to achieve, which is to create a brand show in China.” At IFA’s last count, there were nearly 30 tech trade shows in China, “but mostly for local governments or companies,” said Jens Heithecker, IFA executive director. “There is the space and need for an international show, but our first goal is the domestic market. We can develop from there.” Opinions were divided within Messe Berlin whether to use the IFA name for the show it’s calling CE China, Goke said. “But we decided it would have been presumptuous and misleading to call the show IFA China,” he said. “We need to differentiate from the Berlin show. We want to duplicate the IFA approach, but with special emphasis on brands in China. We will stress the brand show aspect and put the brands first.” Goke said Shenzhen “is the natural choice” of venue for CE China, and “we are here for the long run.”