CEL Manila gathers the best of today's technology

Consumer Electronics Live! Manila 2008 (CEL Manila), the first and only world-class consumer electronics exhibit that showcases all useable technology under one roof, made a splash on October 24, 25, and 26 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The first event organized by Summit Live!, the exhibition arm of Summit Media, CEL Manila attracted over 10,000 gadget lovers to a three-day exhibit that featured products from over 40 exhibitors.

The event kicked off on October 24 with an opening ceremony led by Summit Media president Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng. It was followed by a presentation by guest speaker Samie Lim, Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Retailer’s Association and President of the Automatic Center Group. Mr. Lance Gokongwei, COO of JG Holdings, was on hand to commence the event.

The latest gadgets from the world’s leading electronics brands, such as Canon, Apple, Bose, Nokia, HP, Sony, LG Electronics, Samsung, Lenovo, Nikon, Asus, Creative, Olympus, JBL, and Sennheiser, covered the SMX Convention Center’s vast 9,000-meter space.

Aside from the product showcase, visitors were treated to the Canon Ixus and Pixmagineers Fashion Show, the Sony VAIO Fashion Show, the Elba Cooking Demonstration, the European Mobile Media Association (EMMA) Car Audio Competition, and a photo opportunity with T3 Magazine’s Gadget Guru.

The Philippine Robotics Team, who later won the silver medal in the World Robotics Olympiad held in Yokohama, Japan from October 31 to November 3, was seen off at the event.

Exhibitors were clearly pleased with the outcome of the event, which allowed them to bring their brands closer to their target market.

“We sold a lot of Bose items, specifically the personal audio system,” shares Bernadette Masongsong, Retail Operations Manager of Eleksis Marketing Corporation, distributor of Bose audio equipment in the Philippines. “We are very happy that the event captured a new market for our products as well as retained our loyal customers,” she continues.

“Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We enjoyed participating in the event,” say Eric Tang and Alain Lo of Popcorn Hour Philippines, who launched their digital media streaming products at CEL Manila and consequently sold out all their stocks at the event. “The end users came as expected. What really surprised us was the event being a gateway to an amount of potential distributors.”

Techies who missed CEL Manila this year should mark their calendars for CEL Manila 2009, which is slated to take place on November 13-15, 2009 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

For more information, contact Summit Live! at 451-8888 loc. 1115, 451-8871 (fax), or summitliveinquiries@summitmedia.com.ph.