What happened
At IFA 2025 in Berlin, IFA Management CEO Leif Lindtner said Samsung Electronics left the fair after its leadership decided the event no longer fit its strategy, not because of cost or space constraints alone, and he wants Samsung back.
Why it matters
Lindtner's account suggests the withdrawal is part of a broader shift at the world's largest consumer electronics show, where a majority of the more than 2,000 exhibitors are now Chinese companies and Panasonic has covered its booth with walls.
What to watch
The test is whether IFA can keep major brands like Samsung engaged as it pivots from home appliances toward AI, robotics and mobility, with Lindtner calling the fair a place where media coverage and industry attention are increasingly shaped by those newer categories.
WHO IT HITSThis matters most to consumer electronics brand managers, trade show organizers and retail buyers who use events like IFA to gauge which product categories and regions are gaining ground. For companies deciding whether to keep exhibiting, the article suggests the calculus is shifting toward strategic fit rather than floor space alone.
Summaries like this, every morning.
This interview gives a rare inside view of how Europe's biggest consumer electronics fair is being reshaped by decisions made in Seoul and Tokyo. Lindtner describes Samsung's exit as a strategic judgment by its leadership rather than a simple cost cut, even though Samsung had long anchored the main venue. The fair has responded by widening its definition of consumer electronics: more than 2,000 exhibitors, a majority from China, plus 50 humanoid robots from 18 makers, and a new mobility corner with flying car prototypes. Panasonic's walled booth and the decision to leave Panasonic-branded TV sales to a separate company suggest large Japanese makers are rethinking how visible they want to be at a mass-market event. The stakes hinge on whether IFA can stay a must-attend for global brands as it shifts from home appliances toward AI, robotics and mobility, and whether companies like Samsung see enough strategic value to return beyond their own dedicated showcases.
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