Review of IFA 2026
GFU at IFA 2026
IFA 2026 was full of highlights – countless trade show innovations, world premieres, live formats and stage moments over five days. As the brand owner of IFA, GFU always pays particular attention to trends, technology and market developments in home & consumer electronics, to the interests of its shareholders, and to the topics that move the industry forward. From this perspective, we have selected a few milestones that GFU played a particular role in shaping – chronologically from the first preview in August through to the trade show.
IFA Warm-Up
IFA Media Days
IFA Opening Press Conference
IFA Opening Night
IFA Opening Tour
IFA panel discussions
IFA Leaders & Policy Dialogue
20 August 2026 · Berlin
IFA Warm-Up
With the IFA Warm-Up on 20 August, Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Management, and Carine Chardon, Managing Director of GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, together with partners and industry representatives, set the stage for IFA 2026. Berlin media outlets and local content creators in particular were invited to receive advance information about this year’s trade show and current industry topics. In three different content tracks, attendees were informed about industry and market trends, IFA’s partnerships and start-up activities. Here, GFU presented the half-year figures for technical consumer goods in Germany.
2/3 September 2026 · Berlin
IFA Media Days
On 2 and 3 September, media representatives, brands and industry experts met at the Berlin exhibition grounds to exchange views on new products, current trends and the future of technological developments. With nearly 50 press conferences over these two days, the exhibitors at this year’s IFA demonstrated the innovative strength of the international consumer and home electronics industry. The Media Days are not only an important prelude to the world’s largest tech trade show, but also the central platform for direct dialogue with the media and content creators. The focus was on topics that are increasingly shaping the market and consumers’ everyday lives: artificial intelligence, connected applications, sustainable technologies and intelligent solutions for the home.
Our thanks go to all media representatives, partners and participating companies for the engaged discussions and the wide range of insights. IFA Media Days 2026 proved once again: progress happens where innovation meets exchange.
On 2 September, Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Management, and Carine Chardon, Managing Director of GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, opened the IFA Media Days with the IFA Opening Press Conference. In their keynotes, they highlighted the growing importance of technology in connection with practical added value, resource efficiency and new usage possibilities.
As the kick-off to IFA 2026, the opening press conference provided important impetus for the trade show days that followed and made clear: the future of technical consumer goods lies in their relevance for people and society.
The IFA Opening Night on 3 September at ICC Berlin offered a special kick-off to IFA. Together with IFA Management, GFU invited representatives from industry, retail, politics and culture to a festive evening at one of Berlin’s most defining event venues. For this unique evening, the ICC opened its doors exclusively and once again placed the capital’s architectural landmark in the spotlight. The listed building also stood as a symbol of technological renewal, innovative strength and visionary ideas that also define IFA.
The Opening Night combined encounters, exchange and a festival atmosphere, creating an atmospheric setting for the joint start of IFA 2026.
Additional images for our gallery can also be found on the IFA site.
4 September 2026 · Berlin
IFA Opening Tour
Under the guiding theme “The Future is now,” IFA 2026 began on 4 September with the opening tour. The political delegation was led by Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Government Modernisation, and Mayor Stefan Evers, representing the Governing Mayor of Berlin. He was also accompanied by Dr. Silke Launert, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, and Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey.
The tour led to national and international exhibitors and impressively demonstrated how connected technologies, smart household appliances, artificial intelligence and robotics are already being translated into concrete applications today. The IFA Next innovation area, which brings together start-ups, research and the international tech scene, was also visited.
For GFU, the tour underscored the importance of IFA as a platform for industrial policy messages and as an opportunity for dialogue between business and industry. The composition of the tour particularly highlighted the diversity and economic importance of the sector and the innovative strength of the European home appliances industry.
5 & 7 September 2026 · Berlin
GFU in dialogue: repair and the circular economy
Sustainability and the circular economy were among the defining topics of IFA 2026. In discussions with representatives from industry, retail and research, Carine Chardon contributed to the debate on behalf of GFU: on 5 September at “From e-waste to value” on the question of how repair, refurbishment and recycling can create both longer product life cycles and value creation, and on 7 September at “Reimagine Electronics. Circular by Design.” on the opportunities of circular product design from an economic perspective.
At the IFA Leaders & Policy Dialogue, political decision-makers from Germany and the EU entered into direct dialogue with industry. Gitta Connemann, Parliamentary State Secretary and Federal Government Commissioner for SMEs, Members of the European Parliament Hildegard Bentele and Svenja Hahn, as well as Kristin Schreiber, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General GROW, European Commission, exchanged views with C-level representatives of IFA exhibitors from Germany and Europe – on innovations and the necessary political framework conditions for the home and consumer tech industry. The focus was on discussions about reducing the current regulatory overburdening of companies, strengthening the European Single Market and ensuring fair competition.
The format was organised by GFU, ZVEI and IFA Berlin. It brings politics and industry into personal dialogue in the context of concrete product presentations. For GFU, this exchange is one of IFA’s particular strengths. After all, industrial policy decisions at German and European level determine the competitiveness of the home and consumer tech industry.
