We prepared a separate space this year to create a more partner-friendly environment where we can talk in depth about the excellence of our products and the usability of our solutions and have meaningful communication.
Seol Hoon, vice president and head of the consumer electronics (CE) division at the Germany office of Samsung Electronics, said this while meeting with reporters at the "IFA 2026 exclusive exhibition hall" set up at Humboldt Carré in downtown Berlin. Samsung Electronics ran an exhibition here from Sept. 2 to 6 (local time), starting two days before the opening of IFA 2026, for European retailers and business-to-business (B2B) customers.
IFA 2026, held at Messe Berlin, is Europe's largest home appliance and information technology (IT) exhibition. Samsung Electronics has until now set up a large open booth in the main venue to showcase products to the general public while simultaneously holding buyer consultations. This year, instead of a large open booth at Messe Berlin, it prepared a separate space about 8 kilometers away in the city center and focused on in-depth discussions with buyers on products and sales strategies. The schedule—opening two days earlier than the main IFA event and closing two days earlier—also underscores its buyer-centered nature.
Samsung Electronics' Humboldt Carré exhibition space was organized around "in-depth communication." Throughout the venue, Samsung Electronics staff delivered "tailored explanations" to small groups of buyers. After finishing product tours, buyer representatives sat in consultation areas separated from the viewing route to continue business talks with Samsung Electronics executives and employees.
◇ View products like in a museum, then head to consultation rooms… "Small groups mean higher focus"
The exhibition began by passing through an arch-shaped "portal." Inside, three spaces followed in sequence: ▲ Entertainment Companion ▲ Home Companion ▲ Self-care Companion. Small groups moved at a time while listening to a guide's explanation. A 115-inch Micro RGB TV, the conversational artificial intelligence (AI) "Vision AI Companion," the "Bespoke AI Family Hub" refrigerator that recognizes ingredients and suggests recipes, and Galaxy smartphones and wearables were arranged to fit everyday scenarios.
It also showed how buyers could sell the products in actual stores. If you scan the QR code in front of the TV with a smartphone to launch the "Screen Size Simulator," you can switch a 77-inch screen to 115-inch and other sizes to compare how they would look when installed. It lets customers gauge size without the store having to display every TV size.
Choi Seong-min, a professional in charge of CE retail at the Germany office of Samsung Electronics, said, "Exhibition halls are noisy and make it hard to focus," adding, "In an exclusive exhibition space, we proceed in small groups and can focus on the products, so buyer reaction is positive." Choi added, "At Gamescom 2026, the world's largest game show held in Cologne, Germany, in Aug., we showcased consumer products like TVs, mobile devices, and monitors, so at IFA we focused more on consultations with buyers."
◇ After CES, separating exhibition roles… Creator hub at Messe Berlin
This is effectively the first time since its inaugural participation in 1991 that Samsung Electronics is not holding a large product exhibition at Messe Berlin during IFA. Since 2014, Samsung Electronics has effectively used CityCube Berlin at Messe Berlin exclusively, combining product displays with buyer consultations.
This shift first appeared at CES 2026, the world's largest IT exhibition held in Las Vegas in Jan. Samsung Electronics set up an exclusive space at the Wynn hotel instead of a large open booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Rather than exposing products to large crowds all at once, it expanded a model of explaining products and business strategies tailored to each customer.
However, it did not eliminate contact points with consumers at Messe Berlin. Samsung Electronics is operating a "Samsung Creator Hub" at the IFA Palais through Sept. 8. It is running hands-on programs such as "Samsung AI Escape Room," using Galaxy devices, TVs, and home appliances, for influencers and content creators. Buyer consultations were moved to an independent space downtown, while creator-focused experiences are being held at Messe Berlin, effectively dividing spaces depending on the exhibition's purpose.