InterBEE 2013 day one report
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: InterBEE 2013 has opened at the Makuhari Messe near Tokyo, with busy aisles but less audio booths than in previous years. The exhibition is primarily a broadcast-focused event with audio occupying only a small portion of the wider show floor, but it is nevertheless considered one of the most consistent trade shows in the region for delivering high numbers of quality attendees.
Last year the 2012 edition of the show was greeted with a sudden rush of visitors pouring into the audio hall as soon as the doors opened. In contrast, this year’s opening day saw a steady rise in numbers as the day continued. Nevertheless, by midday the aisles were crowded and business was being done.
‘It’s been very successful,’ commented Mika Mäkilaakso of Genelec, who brought the M Series to the booth of distributor Otaritec for the first time. ‘We’ve had a lot of attention, especially for our M Series. There have been a lot of music creators visiting our booth, which is very interesting to see because this is primarily a broadcast show but there are still a lot of music creators who come here.’
Each year at InterBEE, the Hibino booth, located towards the rear of the audio hall, becomes a magnet for visitors with a huge range of brands including the Harman Professional portfolio, Coda Audio, DPA, and this year boasting a particularly impressive display, DiGiCo. Also on the booth and attracting a great deal of attention was Calrec, introducing the Callisto console to Japan. Henry Goodman described the show’s first day as ‘very busy – we’ve had a lot of footfall on the stand and a lot of people interested in Callisto, which is why we’re here.’
Equally happy was 4HM’s Craig Lovell, who introduced the Madi-Mon to a constant stream of visitors on the Tech-Trust booth. ‘I’m very pleased,’ he enthused. ‘The turnout for the first day has been very good and we’ve had a lot of people over to the Tech-Trust booth looking at the Madi-Mon, which has been very well received. For a first day it’s looking positive.’
Elsewhere, EAW introduced its Anya system on the Onkyo Tokki booth, TASCAM introduced a raft of new products including the DA-3000 audio recorder, and Martin Audio Japan introduced the MLA Mini. ‘In Japan especially the MLA is very popular so now we’re introducing the Mini,’ explained sales manager Shin Yamada, who also struck a positive note for the remaining two days of the show, pointing out that ‘the second day and third day are usually busier than the first’.
InterBEE continues at the Makuhari Messe until November 15th.