At 9 am on September 3, IFA opened at the Berlin Exhibition Center in Germany. As the most inspiring trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, IFA attracts exhibitors and electronics fans from all over the world every year. Affected by the pandemic this year, IFA switched from a physical exhibition to a both online and offline “IFA 2020 Special Edition” exhibition, and the exhibition period was shortened to three days. This IFA exhibition is the first large-scale offline international exhibition held in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of gfu Kai Hillebrandt, Executive Vice President Messe Berlin Group, IFA Executive Director Jens Heithecker, and CEO GfK Peter Feld delivered wonderful opening speeches at the opening of global press conference. Jens Heithecker emphasized the importance and symbolic significance of this year’s industry gathering: “When it comes to doing business, nothing beats the personal connection. This is why having IFA 2020 as a real-life event is such an important sign. It is a symbol to show that together we can look beyond the pandemic and its consequences. There is a normal ahead, and now it is up to industry, retailers, media and consumers to build and shape the ‘normal’ that is going to emerge’. In addition, executives from Qualcomm, LG, Bosch Home Appliances, TCL, Huawei, Haier, Schneider Electric and other famous companies also participated in the IFA global press conference and introduced the development and vision of the company in recent years to international reporters, and global netizens who watched the live broadcast.

This year’s IFA show basically retained the traditional offline section. The first section is “IFA Global Press Conference”, providing manufacturers with an opportunity to showcase their products to the world. During the exhibition, there will be more than 800 reporters from all over the world covering press conferences of different companies. Some companies will also choose to release new products at the IFA press conference. As one of the important platforms for IFA exhibitions to communicate with the world over the years, global press releases will enable global audiences to have a more timely, vivid and in-depth understanding of the exhibition. The second section is “Shift Mobility meets IFA Next”. This year the section will be held at City Cube, and companies will showcase their innovative products that are full of development prospects in the fields of mobility, consumer electronics and home electronics. The third offline section is “IFA Business, Retail and Conferences”. Under the framework of this section, the organizers of IFA have set up business meeting rooms and lounges. It is convenient for trading partners to better establish and expand business networks.

Entrusted by the Berlin Exhibition Company, the Foundation German and Chinese Culture and the German TVT Media Group once again cooperated to jointly operate the IFA 2020 Media Center. Several reporters from the media center interviewed a number of companies to learn more about what these companies expect from IFA under the influence of the pandemic, what new products they have brought, and how they will in this special period continue to expand the market and maintain corporate vitality.

According to the official data provided by IFA, last year there were 1,939 exhibitors at the exhibition. Compared with previous years, the number of exhibitors and visitors decreased significantly this year, but there are still about 100 enterprises of different scales and fields coming to the show, and thousands of enterprises showcase themselves through the online platform provided by IFA. Many enterprises said that face-to-face communication with visitors and displaying their products is still the most important way to promote their markets.