Ahead of IFA Berlin 2024, Hans Carpels, President of Euronics and Chairman of the European Consumer Electronics Retail Council (EuCER), reaffirms his conviction that the show is an essential event for the industry
As Euronics, one of Europe’s largest electrical buying networks, gets ready for the 100th anniversary edition of IFA, the group is celebrating a few significant moments of its own. Beyond its 2023 growth, Euronics was granted a substantial budget from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), and has inked a new partnership deal in Switzerland.
“IFA is THE show for the sector in Europe. I cannot understand industry players who are not present. They expect us to come and visit them, but if we did that, we would need 600 days in a year,” said Mr Carpels when IFA International caught up with him recently. “Last year our team had over 100 meetings with suppliers in five days. We can only achieve that kind of productivity at IFA.”
Apart from singing IFA’s praises, Mr Carpels shared some recent updates from the retail group, namely the more than encouraging figures it reported in 2023. “We were indeed blessed – in difficult market conditions – to grow slightly and take additional market share,” he affirmed, referring to Euronics’ EUR 23.35 billion turnover last year. “We grew both in telecom and IT, where we are the only major player to do so.” In the Super Domestic Appliances (SDA) category alone, 2023 was “the fourth year in a row of double-digit growth for Euronics.”
Last year our team had over 100 meetings with suppliers in five days. We can only achieve that kind of productivity at IFA
In another important piece of news, Euronics has made progress on its sustainability agenda, garnering a CINEA budget to enhance and expand the sustainability training of its staff, create a sustainability label based on European Union guidelines, and launch a series of repair corners. “We are the only retailer and therefore the first to have been granted a budget like this, which runs into the millions,” said Mr Carpels.
“The aim is to sell more sustainable products and less non-sustainable ones,” Mr Carpels confirmed, contending that Euronics would “share the sustainability label with its colleagues in distribution and count on the full support from the industry to align on sustainability criteria.”
A further recent development for the group is its partnership with the major retailer, Interdiscount, in Switzerland. “Interdiscount, being a very strong player in IT, CE & Telecom, is an excellent match with Euronics and shares the same values,” the group President claimed. “Their in-depth knowledge and experience bring additional strength to our position.”
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