Will the European economy pick up soon or not is the million dollar question that still does not have any clear-cut answer. But a majority of the industry feels that if not by January 2016, the economy is sure to bounce back by February or April 2016. Though there is no strong or scientific base for this prediction, buyers’ feedback which in its own is a big logic to feel positive, indicates that the European economy is now finally moving in the right direction. The recently concluded Autumn 2015 edition of the India Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) at Greater Noida not only witnessed participation of 348 exhibitors of home products, but also saw over 7,300 trade visitors throng the corridors, many from Europe which clearly reflected hope. Team Apparel Online met various home furnishing companies and was happy to note that most of the exhibitors were positive about the market in the coming months as they witnessed good and quality buyer visitation.
Printing is more in trend this season – offering from Rugtex, Panipa
Many exporters at the IHGF shared that a lot of European buyers visited the fair and they took serious interest in the products, discussed a lot about price, asked for more varieties and smaller quantities. Many of the buyers shared that they were hopeful that their market would now pick up as some improvement has been noticed after their economy remained flat for a long time. “We got positive feedback from our buyers of Germany as they accepted that sales is picking up in Spain, Portugal and Italy. One of our retailers in Italy told us last month that they have closed almost onethird of their sourcing, and just few days ago they were asking for fresh samples. All these small feedbacks create hope for the European markets,” says Athar Ansari, Director, NS Industries, Noida. The company, exporting to many countries across Europe, is now planning to enter into the US market also.
Similar opinion was shared by Somendra Gupta of Somendra Textiles, Jaipur who felt that Europe always asks for good products and as of now the only concern for him is pricing, so they are adjusting with alternated fabrics, he seemed sure that business from Europe would definitely improve from February 2016. Doing complete range of products in the home and kitchen linen segment with hand block on fine quality cotton to attract the buyer, the organization is planning to get into for coordinated furniture to fill the gap of uniformity of furniture and home products. There were however a few exporters who are still not sure of what to expect from the European market, like Uday Sehgal of Mariko, Noida who is majorly exporting into Europe. “We can’t say anything about Europe as of now, from the last one year we are hearing that the US market is picking up after a long period of recession but on ground level, the US is still not up to that level where it was or should be. Recent fairs like Magic were not very good,” reasoned Uday.
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Apart from Europe, there were a good number of buyers from Australia according to Somendra, so one can hope that Australian market is also picking up. Even though Japan was slow last year but Somendra was enthusiastic about the market this year as Japanese buyers who were earlier keen only about floral prints, were now looking for modern and contemporary designs. “With the changing design requirements more order flow from Japan is natural,” he argued. Hope of better business ahead by Indian exporters was also increased as not only the number of overall buyers was good this time, but they were much more serious also during this visit. “Compared to the past few editions of the fair, the current one is quite good and the quality, in terms of buying capacity of the buyers is also more. We met buyers from countries like Japan and China too,” says Asif Kamal, Woodson Impex, Delhi, having the USP of Crewel embroidery which is getting done in Kashmir. Suraj Bhatia, Partner, Universal Knitwears, Sonepat also met good buyers from Australia, Mexico and Japan. The company is specializing in purely knitted home furnishing products. Having a capacity of 1 lakh cushions and 40,000 throws per month, it is trying to be more organized for further growth. Sharco International, Delhi was also among the few companies having a niche product, as it was offering a good variety in wool.
EPCH claims that business enquiries worth US $ 450 million (Rs. 2,700 crore) have been generated in the event. There were 7,300 buyers from 110 countries including international buyers, buying agents and domestic volume retailers.
Though all kinds of embroidery were seen in the products, as India is good in this segment but this edition saw a clear visibility of printing techniques which was dominant in many of the products, and companies had played beautifully with printing, like Mariko which used screen printing to give a look and feel of handloom and also made use of digital printing for exclusivity. “The idea is to enhance and to compete on cost, and by the smart use of machine techniques as well as work done by hand, the results are fruitful,” said Uday. Rugtex, Panipat having 80 per cent of its business with Europe, too offered mainly printing (screen as well as digital) as a value add in its products.
Manoj Goyal, Director, Goyal Readytex, Jaipur who met 15 serious buyers at the event has come up with a unique mosaic print in cushions which was appreciated by Spanish buyers. It also displayed Ikat look created by Jacquard and tie and dye in bags. The company initiated linen curtains, sofas (canvas upholstery sofa, covered by linen) for upgraded buyers who ask for simple look but stylish and sophisticated application.
