CE Week, Under New IFA Partnership, to Move to Javits Center for June Run

The CE Week conference will move to New York’s Javits Convention Center from the Metropolitan Pavilion when it opens June 20 for a two-day run, said Messe Berlin in a Thursday announcement. Messe Berlin, which owns the IFA show, announced a partnership with CE Week owner NAPCO Media in September (see 1709050036). Moving the event to Javits “signals a pivot in emphasis that is consistent with IFA’s longstanding mission as a world-renowned producer of buyers’ events,” said Messe Berlin. CE Week 2018, “in line” with that strategy, will “transition from a predominantly media-oriented show with a retailer presence” to an emphasis as a retail “buying event with a media presence,” it said. “CE Week powered by IFA will remain, as ever, geared towards leaders in the consumer electronics industry, but will now provide a midyear forum for the global retailing and distributor buying communities to conduct actual business” with vendors, it said. It’s also “the ideal event to generate excitement around upcoming products for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons,” it said. CTA, which owns CES against which IFA competes and was a CE Week sponsor until about three years ago, welcomes "IFA to the US market and [urges] them to follow the IAEE guidelines on tradeshow reporting and audits," said a spokesman of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. "CES has consistently followed these guidelines and also has international recognition as part of UFI guidelines," he said of the global association of the exhibition industry. "Following these standards -- instead of inflating attendance and exhibit space figures by counting consumer attendees, counting trade visitors as a new person each day they attend, and counting aisles and additional booth levels as additional exhibit space – is the only plausible way IFA can state as they do that they are the “world’s largest consumer electronics show.”.