IE Singapore Leading More Companies To CES 2012 In US

07 Jan 2012

The US may be heading for slower economic growth, but IE Singapore is still eyeing the US$165 billion market for consumer electronics.

It is now leading more Singapore companies to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 in the US next week. The event will be held from January 10-13 in Las Vegas.
The number of Singapore companies heading to the CES 2012 has nearly doubled this year. Last year, it was six, while this year, it is 10.

Electronics device makers are cashing in on the iTwin becoming a strong rival to cloud computing.
The new iTwin Multi, which will be launched at CES 2012, will revolutionise the way computers are accessed remotely.
Kal Takru, co-founder and chief operating officer of iTwin, said: "You get great buzz from CES always. It is one of those things. iTwin, being a fairly unique product...there is nothing quite like iTwin right now. People tend to understand it, they tend to remember it. So we have that fortunate fact on our side." 

Having sounded out the US market for the past few CES, XMI now wants to build on its brand.

The developer of portable speakers wants turnover to grow to S$50 million this year.
Turnover was S$16.3 million in 2010, which grew to at least S$30m in 2011. Its previous participations in CES have helped it understand the stringent logistic requirements in North and South America.

Justin Lee, sales director of XMI, said: "In the portable speakers' market, it is a very commoditised market. People buy the products without really thinking about the brand or what they are buying. We want our products to be used on a daily basis by all our partners, by all our consumers. "
Meanwhile, retailer EpiCentre said it is looking out for new gadgets to add to its product range, for its outlets in Singapore, Malaysia and China.

Jimmy Fong, executive chairman and CEO of EpiCentre, said: "We are hoping that European, US and Japanese brand owners or manufacturers are willing to come to Singapore to explore the Asian market more, instead of just relying on their own domestic markets, which as we know, may not be as thriving as in Asia."
While companies are bracing themselves for an expected economic slowdown, consumer electronics players remain upbeat of their prospects.

This comes after experts project growth in the industry to hit US$4.8 billion by 2015.