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IFA 2020 is a much smaller, intimate socially distanced affair in Berlin. The event organisers have done a superb job at keeping the CE industries key event open all be it, not to the general public.

I am here as a guest to sit through keynotes from the industries great and good however more exciting is the next gen events running alongside these.

The Corona effect has impacted the industry at a global level and as we come out of having spent quite possibly the longest continued time than normal in our own homes, consumer’s desire for new technology to enhance their space has grown. The industry knows this and my business has seen this since retail reopened with an average conversion to sale of over +60% and ABV increase by +10%.

Drivers to purchase range from distress to replacement but also upgrade, desiring the latest in smart CE to complement the extra time we are now spending at home but also just in case we are forced to spend another lengthy lockdown in our cribs.  

One of the long-term effects of lockdown has been that people are now spending more time at home, by choice, centred around the kitchen meaning that more of what we consume needs be made or prepared using technology. This extends to how we wash not only those pots, pans, crockery etc. but also how we clean our clothes and our homes, in addition to working from home and socialising. Brands within the category have jumped to call of more innovation, more integration, and more space. The design of the home is evolving faster due to Coronavirus making consumers keen to enhance their quality of life at home through smart technology whilst not compromising on aesthetics.

A brand that seems to have designed to meet this challenge post lockdown is BSH, which has added not only smart technology to its range but also a third shelf in its dishwashing range. It’s also increased the size of its freezers with an extra 26cm of cubic space. Its neat invention, Connected Cookit, is a multifunction food processor with cooking functions that cooks up to 200 degrees. It’s a slow cooker, but not as you know it – it makes it, cooks it and connects to your voice assistants and your smart devices so you can control it remotely. This connectivity extends to BSH ovens, dishwashers etc. from your Fitbit whilst you venture out for a run meaning that you can still be in the kitchen, when you’re not.

Innovations include changing hues of ambient lights on hoods, dishwashers etc. to match your mood or interior and also programming your coffee machine to make the perfect cup of coffee just as you, your family and your guests like it, bringing the barista out in you.

Investment in R&D are the key shout outs this year across all brands showcasing at IFA this year. Amongst the largest was $100bn from Huawei’s who are committing to developing technologies encapsulated in an initiative called ‘1+8+N seamless connected living’ on which Huawei is in the first chapter and that enable a connected future for all. In reaction to the US sanctions imposed on Huawei and those who worked with the brand, Huawei have risen to the challenge admirably engaging directly with almost 460m monthly active users, 33m in the EU alone. The App Gallery is the third largest app store globally, increasing 76% YOY naturally due to the loss of Google services meaning Huawei users have limited choice but to do so. Petal search, the new search engine from Huawei, now has over 100m users with 81,000 apps integrated. Relevant apps are on the platform meaning that whatever the USA government tried to do to dampen Huawei has backfired and served to make the brand stronger in the market. 

The investment extends into retail, where others fear to tread, Huawei are leading the charge and opening eight flagship stores across major cities such as London, Paris, Milan which will be complemented by 42 experience zones that offer a user experience unrivalled so they claim. This initiative is close to my heart as the need to engage consumers in the considered purchase space is so important to achieve meaningful sales, market share and create advocates of your brand if not for life, certainly for the next five years.

Another Chinese brand making significant noise is Haier, which also owns Hoover, Candy and GE Appliances wants to be 100% connected throughout its portfolio of products. Currently they have 18 families of products that they are developing through app and voice connectivity, “democratic connectivity” according to the CEO Zhang Ruimin. With a three brand strategy of Candy delivering Value, Hoover as the core and Haier as premium. Candy, positioned in the market by its parent company as ‘affordable, smart, Italian’ claims to have 1.2 million paired products and 30% active users which in 2019 it recorded that 21% of Candy users were launching a washing cycle using its smart home facility, a multiple of 3 YOY and still growing.

Nova by Candy is a fully connected washing machine powered by your smartphone. The first of its type with one single button to control the MDA but also learning about your usage and making recommendations to enable consumers to wash smarter and ecologically.

Impressively it is claimed by Hoover that they sell globally a stick vacuum every minute. The new range will also be connected. H-Wash will scan your label via your smartphone and your connected Hoover H-Wash 500 will select the best program for your laundry. Now that means anyone can do the laundry.

H-Habitat air purifier, connected of course, will assess the quality of air in your home, the weather forecast, pollution stats, pollen count and adapt your purifier to react according to the need within your home. Gathering internal and external air data through the H-Scanner, which activates the robotic vacuum to clear dust and the air purifier to adapt the air quality in your home.

Positioning Haier as a premium brand and claimed to be the fastest growing premium brand (in this category) through creating innovations such as antibacterial laundry and five door cooling each with adjustable temperature zones. Did you know that Haier makes wine storage solutions? They are linking with the Vivino app to help you with how you should store any bottle of wine. By scanning the label, the app will automatically update the temperature of the storage to suit your choice of wine.

The trend at IFA 2020, it would seem, is that every brand is seeking to be the first choice for consumers to integrate with your smart home. It’s fair to say that the big news came predominantly from the MDA sector amongst others.

LG – “For us, this is a milestone of foundational significance because with this level of digital integration, we’re really beginning to build an evolving, connected and open ecosystem of smart products and services that can deliver so much more than the sum of its parts – going above and beyond device-level thinking to unlock a whole new world of potential at the system-level.”

Dr. IP Park, President & CTO, LG Electronics (Watch the summary of his speech.)

BSH – “We at BSH want to be the first company in our industry to neutralize the direct carbon dioxide emissions of all our locations worldwide.”

Matthias Ginthum, CMO BSH Hausgeräte (Watch the summary of his speech.)

TCL – “Our mission is to make life intelligent with innovative technology to make our customers’ lives easier and smarter.”

Frederic Langin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, TCL Europe (Watch the summary of his speech.)

Haier – “Haier will introduce new solutions based on an ecosystems built from the Internet of Things for turning the group vision of Smart Home and Smart Living into reality.”

Yannick Fierling, CEO Haier (Watch the summary of his speech.)

Schneider electric – “The need to start to make homes not only smart but also sustainable and the urgency of the same has increased with the current crisis. (…) We are now linking the electric world and the digital world. This is Wiser.”

Manish Pant, CEO & Executive Vice President Home & Distribution Division Schneider electric (Watch the summary of his speech.)

Beurer – “Experience the power of the sea at home with maremed®. The patented technology creates a natural-identical seaside climate.”

Georg Walkenbach, Managing Director, Beurer GmbH (Watch the summary of his speech.)

Miele – “The Miele Group has coped quite well with this challenging year so far. In fact, at the midpoint of the year our sales were actually almost 2 per cent higher than those in the first half of 2019.”

Dr Reinhard Zinkann, Executive Director and Co-Proprietor of the Miele Group (Watch the summary of his speech.)

Hyundai – “You know we are making strategic investments in smaller fast-moving companies that will help Hyundai become more of a tech company rather than just a car company.” Michael Cole, President and CEO Hyundai Motor Europe 

HONOR – “Today, I am pleased to announce that we are bringing our all scenario smart life strategy to the next level. We will upgrade your productivity, creativity, connectivity and entertainment experiences, expand your smart life” and “From outdoor watches to all-rounder PCs, we are empowering young people to reinvent their smart life and expand the way they approach fitness, creativity, productivity and everyday entertainment”

George Zhao, President of HONOR Global (Watch the summary of his speech)

Now, with a handful of brand booths and three days of press conferences also IFA Business, Retail & Meeting Lounges, the highlight was the cross-industry innovations at SHIFT Mobility meets IFA NEXT. Here many ranging from start-up and established brands were showcasing new emerging technologies and there were in my humble opinion three worthy of note:

Heatle

When we boil water to make that cup of tea we boil more than we need. This device will boil whatever the amount, whatever the liquid. It is the easiest, fastest and most sustainable alternative to traditional ways of heating liquids benefiting our environment and does so free from limescale. It claims to save up to 60% energy per cup but you can’t have one just yet, as there’s a waitlist to own one.

Meater 

A wireless Bluetooth enabled meat thermometer that helps you never overcook that special cut of meat and cook it to perfection. It’s the first wireless smart meat thermometer that will estimate how long to cook your food to get perfect results which can be used on all types of cooking equipment to gage a temperature. As you would expect its wireless using a Bluetooth connection and app to permanently measure the internal and external temperature of the food. The app provides real time information on the cooking status of the meal, including resting time. Available in 3 versions: The Original MEATER and MEATER+ has a 50 metres Bluetooth range, ideal for the BBQ and for the Masterchefs amongst you. The MEATER block with 4 temperature probes boasts unlimited range and integrated OLED-display

Visseiro 

It is a ‘Smart Care Cushion’, which it claims allows reliable, continuous and contactless measurements of vital signs. The simple pillow effortlessly tracks elderly’s health and stores data in an app that can be checked regularly and sent to your doctor, if needed. Currently still in development but you could become a test user to aid its development.

It is these products that make IFA the destination event to experience innovation from established and start up brands. However this year, IFA as we know was sadly missed and whilst the event was skilfully orchestrated, I’m sure all will welcome the mass of brands in every category coming together as normal to enthralling and engaging media and consumers again next year at IFA2021 3rd – 7th September. Save the date.