Samsung fixes eyes on Europe

By Kim Yoo-chul

Yoon Boo-keun Samsung Electronics co-CEO

Christian Goke Messe Berlin CEO

BELEK, Turkey ― Samsung Electronics plans to bolster its marketing efforts in Europe to expand its presence in the region, one of the markets it considers crucial for its quest to sustain its growth.

To that end, the Korean electronics giant is going to unveil its newest products in an independent building outside the exhibition hall in this year's IFA trade fair in Berlin, Germany, which will run from Sept. 5 to 10.

During the Global Press Conference (GPC) in Belek, Turkey, the chief executive of Messe Berlin, the organizer of the conference responsible for the IFA exhibition, revealed that Samsung will introduce its products in the newly-constructed "CityCube Berlin."

This is the first time that Samsung has decided to display products and announce updated business strategies in a space outside an organized exhibition spot.

"The CityCube will be used by Samsung exclusively during the IFA fair. The benefit for a single exhibitor in an independent space is that the chosen firm can do their own presentations," Messe Berlin CEO Christian Goke said during the event packed with more than 350 international journalists, late Saturday (KST).

Goke said Samsung Electronics' co-CEO Yoon Boo-keun will deliver a keynote speech at the CityCube center during the Sept. exhibition. A sum of 100 million euros ($138.35 million) was invested in building the center.

As a symbol of the trusted partnership, Messe Berlin is offering help to its Korean partner to support its efforts to ensure a change in a rapid manner, known as the Mach-speed Management.

The world's top vendor in smartphones and TVs is realigning its business structures to respond to the rapidly-changing market.

This year's IFA which will highlight connected devices and digital society is expected to also be an opportunity to bring the issue of connected societies to the forefront.

"We are living under an era of 'Consumer Electronics 4.0,' which means that everything is connected. Consumer products can be controlled by other products such as smartphones, TVs and PCs. Connectivity is not the future. Consumers' desire for more connectivity needs to be respected," said Hans Joachim Kamp, chairman of the supervisory board of Gfu.

He said tablets, LCD TVs with ultra high-definition (UHD) picture quality, smartphones, wearable devices, connectivity and curved devices will be the main themes of the IFA.

"IFA has always been on the forefront of changes. IFA prepares continuously for changing new things." According to his own observation, the Consumer Electronics 3.0 can partly be summarized as the emergence of Korean companies.

Smart appliances will be another main theme for the Berlin fair.

In line with that trend, Samsung is expected to focus on showcasing its smart home solutions. Samsung is determined to integrate its products such as fridges, washing machines, TVs, cameras, mobile and watches to its goal of connectivity. An updated sketch of how the service will work will be announced during the upcoming fair.

While the annual IFA fair is one of the top two global trade exhibition events together with the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Apple is unlikely to attend the IFA show.

"Because Apple is heavily dependent on software, it's quite unlikely that the iPhone maker will be staying with us," said the Messe Berlin CEO.