Over the last few years it has been noticed that most of the sourcing fairs across the world are losing their charm, especially for Indian exporters. But the recently concluded Indian Handicraft & Gift Fair (IHGF) at Greater Noida was an exception as largely the participants (mostly in home textiles/soft goods segment) were happy with the buyer footfall. Some of them, in discussion with the buyers, claim to have received positive market feedback which is a big boost to middle-level home furnishing exporters who have seen some slow times in the past. As per the claims of the organizers of the event, Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH), major international brands too visited the fair and showed interest in many products.
The recently concluded IHGF witnessed participation from several home furnishing exporters from Jaipur and most of them were present with their traditional strength. However, there were a few offering different products, or products that earlier they were not doing. Like Arvind Exim, which participated at the fair after a gap of almost a decade, had displayed upholstery fabric which it has recently introduced. “It was due to this new product offering that we decided to participate at the event after a long gap. Visitors liked our products, and we are happy with the response and quality of buyers. I met a good number of wholesalers from USA and Germany,” informed Baldev Rathi, Director, Arvind Exim. The company offers a wide range of home textiles products and is proudly incorporating Jaipur culture (Hawa Mahal, local villages) in its collection. Currently, having a turnover of US $ 4.61 million (Rs. 30 crore), Rathi is expecting 15 per cent growth in 2016.
Ramdev Handicrafts, another firm from Jaipur too highlighted the traditional hand block and hand embroidery kantha work of the region. The booth showcased quilts, blankets, table linen, bed sheets and throws. Harish Rathi of the firm feels that though machine-made products are increasingly getting market space, handmade traditional things will always remain in demand. He was happy to meet few good visitors from domestic market like Bombay Store, Westside, Fab India, etc. “For us a buyer is a buyer, whether he is from the international market or Indian market, getting business is the key,” said Harish.
During the fair, a panel discussion on retail and e-commerce titled ‘Partners in Progress – Kal, Aaj aur Kal 2014-2016-2018’, was held in which well known retailers and e-commerce leaders like Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India; Navin Mistry, Head, e-Bay; Vivek R Category Head – Flipkart India; Wenketesh, Category Head – Amazon; Vikram Chitnis of Home Stop; Kashyap Vadapalli CMO & Business Head, Peppefry.com; Sitaram Kumar VP – Home Centre India; Sonali Bhandari – Senior Executive Westside; Ashish Jhalani, Founder E-tailing India; and Karan Jethwani, Coordinator – Domestic Retail Promotions at Export Promotion Council For Handicrafts were present.
Tejinder Sodhi, CMD, Suprint Textiles, also from Jaipur is a regular participant at this fair and he also confirmed that this time the response was better than the previous editions, yet as a veteran he was honest in admitting that the industry was stagnating. “No doubt, overall buyers are now less at such events compared to many years ago but consumers are still there worldwide and even growing, but sales are not picking up. Why, because we the exporters’ fraternity is unable to offer anything new in product development that they would like to buy; secondly, we are not competing on price. Why don’t Indian exporters have quality control or automation system? We have to move forward and offer something more than value for money,” averred Sodhi. Suprint Textiles is working for top national and international brands and is into garmenting as well. The company is doing an annual turnover of US $ 12.30 million (Rs. 80 crore) and has a vertically integrated setup.
No doubt, most of the time companies at sourcing fairs come up with just little changes in their products, but only a few companies have something really different to showcase. JC International, Noida is one such company that had focused on different types of washes in its products. “We have used acid wash, stone wash and enzyme wash to give the products a new look as we have edge of specialization in washes with our own washing unit, which helps us to keep exploring different and new kinds of washes. Buyers too noticed and appreciated the feel which is created by wash effects. We have used handloom and jute in some of our products,” said Vinod Mishra, GM of the company. He also added that apart from regular buyers, some new buyers too visited the booth during the fair. Mainly catering to the European market, the company is also planning to start bag manufacturing as it feels that accessories are another avenue for growth.
Focusing mainly on cushions and bedding, Kashmir Valley Arts, Srinagar was very confident about its new collection, dominated by hand embroidery with green, grey and blue colours. Jameel Naqash, representing the third generation of this family business informed, “I have immense respect for my products, which can be used for a long time and not for just a few months or few seasons. The feel, colours and look of our products will remain the same for years. We are quite quick in sample making and can prepare any sample required by the buyer within two days. This is possible as we have complete hold on our products in terms of new developments and we are passionate about offering newness. We believe that buyers should have an urge to work with us, rather than we following the buyers for orders.”
With most participants happy, the organizers too expressed satisfaction. “The show has become a one-stop sourcing destination for major international brands like Bloomingdales, Macys, K-Mart, Walmart, Pier 1, M&S, Woolworth, Karstadt, Peek and Cloppenburg, Carrefour, Hobby Lobby to name a few. Overall there were overseas volume buyers from more than 110 countries and over 4,700 trade visitors including International buyers, buying agents and domestic volume retailers registered at the event,” shared Rakesh Kumar, ED – EPCH.
