The 15th Istanbul Home Textile Exhibition, Evteks 2009 was held from 20th – 24th May 2009 at Istanbul, Turkey. Though the fair was opened to buyers in the morning of 20th May the Turkish Prime Minister has formally inaugurated Evteks 2009 in the afternoon.

The fair is considered as one of the largest Home Textiles Exhibition of the world. Turkey is one of the largest Textile manufacturing countries which attract many buyers from Eastern Europe. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey are not allowing any Chinese companies participation in this fair, obviously to protect the domestic textile industry. There are 667 exhibitors have displayed their products in Evteks 2009 of which 22% are International exhibitors from 18 countries viz. Spain, Italy, USA, India, Belgium, The Netherlands, Canada, Austria, Egypt, UK, Lebanon, etc.

HEPC has participated in Evteks 2009 with 10 member exporters under MDA scheme for the fifth consecutive year.

This fair is an important international sourcing center for a wide range of products including Home textiles, Table linen, Kitchenware, Fabrics, Fashion accessories, Floor coverings, etc.

For the first time Evteks has attracted many buyers from most of the Islamic countries for Fashion accessories such as Scarves and Stoles produced in Uttar Pradesh. Because of economic slow down the number of buyers form European countries has come down but over all business transacted was considered worth of time & money spent.

The important noticeable development is Turkish textile firms are looking to source mixed fiber fabrics for various Home textile products, as their cost of production is very high and the slow down market is looking for cheap products.

Turkey is also hard hit by the slow down market condition and many textile mills in the city of Bursa about 150 KM from Istanbul are facing closedown due to high running cost and bad market.

The following is the list of HEPC member exporters participated in Evteks 2009.

In 2008

During Evteks –2008, 343 numbers of serious buyers have visited to our 12 stands & spot orders worth Rs.1.06 crores were booked & enquires worth Rs.15.06 crores were received during the fair.

In 2009

The extract of feedback received from our ten member participants are as follows:

• 1. There are 351 Business visitors have visited them.
• 2. The visitors are from Turkey, Egypt, France, UK, Iran, Ukraine, Bosnia, Palestine, Morocco, Libya, Serbia, Syria & Bulgaria.
• 3. The Spot orders worth of US $.1,31,000/- has been booked by 5 participants.
• 4. Business enquiry worth of US $ 4,62,000/- has been generated during the 5 days of fair.

HEPC participants received inquiries for products viz. Upholstery Fabrics, Table lines, Kitchen lines, Bed linen, Curtain, Cushion Covers, Carpets, floor covering, Tassels. Despite the slow down market condition the fair was attended good number of prospective buyers. All the products displayed by our participants’ viz. Stoles, Scarves, Home Textiles, Floor Coverings, Upholstery, fabrics were received orders/enquiries. According to our member participants they have displayed products manufactured as per colour forecast issued earlier by Heimtextil, Frankfurt authority and there were no mention about the colour by any of the buyers. The colours preferred by the buyers are Blue, Brown, Natural colour, which is the forecast of Messe Frankfurt for Heimtextil 2009.

Majority of the buyers are from Turkey, Egypt, France, UK, Iran, Ukrain, Bosnia, Palestine, Morocco, Libya, Serbia, Seria & Bulgaria.

Mainly the products of interest are Upholstery, Carpets, Floor covering, Tassels & Made-up.

Overall most of our participants would like to repeat their participation next year also.

Evteks 2010 is to be held from 19th – 23rd May 2010 at the same venue.

H.E.Vanlalhuma, Consul General of India, Istanbul has visited the fair with team of officers and interacted with all our participants. Shri Gagan Rai, Vice Chairman, Handloom EPC has visited the fair and interacted with member participants as well as Consulate General of India, Shri.R.P. Rajalingam, Export Promotion Officer, Regional Office, New Delhi has represented the Council.

Poland is considered as one of the fastest growing economies in Central European nations, with an annual growth rate of over 6.0%. Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s, with positive results for economic growth but negative results for some sectors of the population. The privatization of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, which has been the main drive for Poland's economic growth.

Despite some continued systematic problems, Poland has made a tremendous overall economic progress over the last decade, and now is ranked 21st worldwide in terms of the GDP. With the largest component of its economy being the service sector, and the continued forecasts of positive economic growth, Poland is likely to continue to move up in the world GDP ranking.

Considering the importance of identifying new markets for our Handloom Products, HEPC has proposed to participate in the Home Décor 2009 held at Poznan in Poland from 3rd to 6th June, 2009, under MDA Scheme of Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Nearly 130 exhibitors have showcased their products such as decorative fabrics, upholstery fabric, net curtains, curtains, towels and bedsheets etc. The fair attracted visitors from 14 Countries which include Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, China, Portugal, Swezerland and Turkey.

The following 8 member exporters of HEPC had participated in the event through HEPC:

1.M/s. C.B. Tex, Karur
2.M/s. Seer India, Panipat
3.M/s. Garud Fabs Pvt; Ltd., Panipat.
4.M/s. Sri Laxmi Export, Karur
5.M/s. R.K. Export, Karur
6.M/s. Narain Export, Kanpur
7.M/s. Nandini Fabrics, Karur
8.M/s. Swati Exim Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi

They have showcased the handloom products such as placemats, Napkins, Curtain, Tea Towels, Kitchen sets, Table cloth, Cushion covers, Apron, Pot holde, Quilts Mittons, Mats, etc.

The Council had also engaged three interpreters from Poznan who were helpful to our member participants in interacting with buyers. Since the majority of the visitors speak only polish, the services of interpreters were very useful to our member participants.

The turnout of visitors/Buyers was large and there were many enquiries in the first two days. There were around 112 business visitors visited the stalls of our member exportrs and concrete enquiries worth of Rs. 77,56,000/- was generated during the fair.

Some of the members exporters have opined that in future HEPC should undertake a trip to many new fairs to analyse the market trends in particular country and by partcipating on exploratary basis and if it will be useful the same may be recommended to members.

The Council has deputed K.Gomathinayagam, Export Promotion Officer to coordinate the partcipation of our member exporters in this fair.

Tour Report of M.Anandabalaji, Jr. Export Promotion Officer on the coordination visit to 39th House & Gift Fair held from 15th to 18th august 2009 at Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Handloom Export Promotion Council organizes various trade fair participations around the globe for the benefit of the handloom industry i.e. for the member exporters of the council under the aegis of the O/o Development Commissioner of Handlooms & Textiles, Ministry of Textile, Govt. of India with the financial aid from various schemes of Govt. of India. In this context the council has organized the participation in the 39th House & Gift Fair held from 15th August 2009 to 18th August 2009 at Sao Paulo, Brazil. The fair was organized at the Expo center Norte, Sao paulo, which is a renowned trade center dedicated for conducting such events. This trade fair has been organized by M/s. Grafite Feiras e Prmomocoes Ltda, Brazil who have a well and leading experience in this field. The show is a multi product show targeting towards the gift items, electronics, textile, kitchen ware, table ware, furniture, interiors, lighting etc. The fair sub-divided in terms of exhibitor-wise such as Electro House Hall, In Domus Hall, In Light Hall, Linea Domus Hall, Supri Sop Hall, Textil House Hall, Utility House Hall, International Hall, Projecto Hall. There is theme pavilion organized by the fair organizers that had conceited the gift items and colour theme & trend of the upcoming season.

About the Country and the business location:

Brazil as such is an upcoming developing nation which has a total population of over 180 millions and the GDP is more than US$ 1 trillion. The main income sourcing commodities for this nation are meat, coffee, tea leaves, tobacco and other agricultural products. The main business hub of this country is Sao Paulo which is one of the largest populated city in the world. The Brazilians as such will gather here for their shopping/purchases as this city houses the major brands in the malls and shopping center. There are about 37 mega shopping malls located in and around the city. Major brands like Nike, Reebok, addidas, CK, Armani, Puma, Levis, etc. are easily identifiable in here. Likewise the prize range of the branded items also seems to be reasonably lesser.

About the Brazilian market:

The Brazilian market is an very challenging market for the exporters from India,. This has got huge potential and requirement for the home textile items which are produced by us. Even though the Branded items are available very much easier in here, the main target for the Indian exporter may be the chain stores or the major importers in this nation. This is very much true as we can visualize the Indian products and names are made as hot cakes in the market by the local businessmen.

Basically the import / customs duty structure of the brazilin Government is quite complicated which is making the cost the products very expensive when imported. But once entered into the market , the profit margin is very promising and attractive and is foreseeable in very long run basis.

The market is quite reserved i.e the local marketers look for those products which are clearly handed over in their warehouse – free from the hazzles of the import structures.

About the fair:

The fair was organized by HEPC for the second time in consecutive years. Last year, when the fair was organized last year there were about 18 participants at an area of about 192 sq.mtrs.. During which the response was also good and a few exporters have booked some orders. But due to the recession in the global market, the orders were not converted in due course which had made a reverse Impact on the exporters.

During the current year - August 2009, the fair witnessed a total footfall (Visitors for the fair) of about 46400 national visitors as against last year (2008) national visitors of about 48000. The international visitors have marginally increased to about 500 from the last year (2008) international visitors of about 400.

The visitors were from 57 countries, of which the majority visitors from countries like Argentina, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Peru, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Being Brazil one of the important markets in South America and since we had a marginal entry in the market during the last year, as a continuous promotional aspect this fair was organized for the second time participation. Unlike last year we had received response only from 5 members and hence we have put up Indian Handloom pavilion with only 6 stalls including 1 central promotional stall for HEPC. The following exporters have participated in the event.

HEPC have taken a central promotional stall of 9 sq.mtrs thus aggregating to 60 sq.mtrs. The products displayed by the members were mainly bath mats, rugs, kitchen linen, table linen, throws, wall hangings, curtains etc. The Indian pavilion was located in the International arena of the fair ground.

In order to facilitate the members during the fair, the council had arranged for 2 translators (who were hired last year as referred by the O/o CGI, Sao Paulo) for assisting them in the trade related conversations who had very well uttered the best of their job.

Other Councils like CEPC, EPCH, FIEO, ITPO have also organized the participation for their member exporters at this fair. The Indian participation to a whole contributed to about 80% of the international exhibitors. The other exhibitors were from countrie like China, Brazil, Peru, Spain

House & Gift of Design Award

The fair authorities organize a simultaneous event in the name of House & Gift of Design Award by which a jury assesses the designs of the products that are presented in the fair. The objective is about recognizing products that reach the most high rates and metric evaluation (form and function), defining the contemporary style design in Brasil, creating tendencies and fashion. The House & Gift Design Award is a creative and innovation stimulation of housewares sector products, by form and function concept. The selected designer is provided by professional talent recognition, getting place between the best professionals on the sector of national market.

Observations at the fair ground:

The preliminary day of the fair was very busy with the stall contractors, as they were not complying with the requirements even after our repeated appeals. It had been a tough job to set the things right before the end of the preliminary day so that every thing is ready for exhibiting. All the member exhibitors arrived well in time on the preliminary day. Most of the people carried their samples except few whose goods were getting delayed to be delivered by the courier. We approached the courier office and did the needful to deliver the same. At the same time, the courier meant for the HEPC has not reached us even after trying with the courier agents. It was delayed due to the customs clearance & also because of the weekend holidays.

The fair started off slowly and some of the exporters had some responses. The buyer movement was slow through out the fair. Even though some of the members received some enquiries none received confirmed orders.

CGI visited the fair on the first day at which time, we represented the delay in the courier delivery for which he asked myself to come to his office so that he could do the needy. Again CGI, Sao Paulo Brazil visited the fair along with their team including the Consul (commercial). Subsequently I went to the CGI office in order to clear the courier problem and explained about the same. They had approached the concerned people and got the information about the delivery status. After trying a lot it was under stood that the courier will be delivered to us in a day or so.

In spite of the measures taken by us, one of the couriers containing the brochures and publicity material of HEPC was delivered on the last day of the fair. Hence the publicity materials like the Handloom atlas, HEPC brochure was given to the CGI office for free distribution at their end.

About 42 buyers have visited our member stalls from countries like Brazil, Italy, U.S etc. The total trade enquiries generated for the member participants was to a tune of USD 85000 i.e. Rs.4250000. But irrespective of these enquiries there were no spot orders booked.

The photographs of the trade fair with our members and during the visit of the CGI to our stall is placed below:

The trade fair participation was coordinated by Mr.M.Anandabalaji, Jr. Export Promotion Officer of the Council.

Handloom Export Promotion Council

Report on Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Autumn) ’ 09

10th to 13th October 2009
India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida

The 28th Edition of Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Autumn) 2009 opened with the ceremonious lamp lighting and ribbon cutting on the morning of the 10th October, 2009 by Mrs. Rita Menon, Hon’ble Secretary for Textiles, Govt. of India in the presence of Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, Ms.Alka Arora, Additional DC (Handicrafts), Mr.Rohit Bhrdwaj, Jt. Director, O/o. DC (Handicrafts), Mr. Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman EPCH, Mr.Navratan Samdria, Chairman, IEML, members of the trades, Ministry Official leading congregation of foreign buyers, Foreign and Indian journalists and Indian Exporters .

In inaugural address Secretary (Textiles) urged the Handicraft exporters to explore new markets, re-define marketing strategies and diversify products to increase India’s share in the global market. She added that her Ministry has attached top priority to this sector and assured all possible support to create conductive atmosphere to enhance exports. She said that Handicraft products from the cottage sector at this fair serve as an important medium in enhancing marketing opportunities for international buyers during this global recession.

According to Fair Authority, there are approximately 1800 leading manufacturers and exporters & 300 mart owners have displayed vide range of Handicrafts and Textiles products including Home Furnishing made-ups such as bedspreads, cushion covers, bed linen, table linen, decorative table cloths, rugs, duvets and quilts, patchwork, curtains, throws besides fashion accessories such as scarves, stoles, etc.

This time also HEPC has got the premises in 2nd Floor Mart Area belongs to Govt. of Orissa & another 5 Marts from India Export Mart Ltd., G. Noida & allotted to following 13 member participants in IHGF (Autumn) 2009.

It is ascertained from the feedback received from our participants that 86 buyers visited our 13 member exporters stalls. Despite the recession in international market & space allotted in mart area the spot orders worth of Rs.5.50 lakhs were booked and enquiries generated worth of Rs.56.00 lakhs for the items Scarves, Stoles, Table Linen, Kitchen Linen, Curtain, Bathmats, Rugs, Cushion Cover & Carpets & Floor Coverings during the four days of fair.

The Regional office, New Delhi has co-coordinated the event.

Few photographs taken during IHGF (Autumn)’09.

The next Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Spring) ’09 will be held from 20th to 23rd February 2010.

"The India Show" one of the largest business events of India projecting the country’s multi-sectoral advancements was organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation at Lenexpo, St.Petersburg ( formerly Leningrad ) otherwise also known as Northern Venice , Russia during 30th Sep’09 to 3rd Oct’09 . The event was organized as one among the series of events planned with in the frame work of Year of India in Russia . Over 140 participants from different sectors like Chemical. Engineering , Science & Technology , Textiles , Apparel & Garments. Handicrafts & Gifts, Agricultural & Processed food , Tobacco, Tea , Coffee and spices participated in the event Shri .Anand Sharma , Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Govt. Of India inaugurated the event on 30-09-09

Russia in General

According to an economic and corporate metric analysis , Russia has the 3rd largest foreign exchange reserves in the world , budget and trade surpluses , a growing middle class. Russia is looking for a GDP growth of between 5% to 8% per annum until 2012, private consumption growing at 10% per annum , a fairly stable exchange rate , a financial sector which has relatively little exposure to sub-prime lending reflects the positive side of Russian financial sector and market offering lot of scope to increase the market share of our trade . The import and export trade between India and Russia are given below.

Values in US$ Million

Source : DGCIS – Indian Trade Statistics ; GOSKOMSTAT- Russian Trade Statistics

It could be observed from the above table that our % of share in terms of export to Russia is less than 1% which offers a lot of scope for further growth which is at present growing at an average rate of about 20% over the previous year . Our import from Russia surpasses the export share hence there exists a negative trade balance in respect of trade with Russia .

According to the Indian statistics more than 50% of India’s exports to Russia comprise 4 product categories viz: Drugs, Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals(32.53%); Coffee(9.23%); Tea(6.83%); Tobacco un manufactured(5.38%). Other exports include RMG Cotton including accessories (2.56%); Processed Fruits&Juices (4.25%); Transport Equipment (4.07%); Cotton Yarn, Fabrics & madeups (4.05%), Plastic & Linoleum Products, Machinery and Instruments, , Electronic Goods. . Our share of exports to Russia in textiles is very minimal thus offer a large scope for its growth.

COUNCIL'S PARTICIPATION IN INDIA SHOW

In a scenario of global economic resurgence, Council participated in the event by taking a total space of 30 m2 to explore the market potential.. Besides putting up a Council’s central promotional stall , the following 2 member exporters were also given an opportunity to exhibit the products.
- Shahenaz Exports, Mumbai - 12 m2
- Orissa State Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society Ltd. ( Boyanika) , Bhubaneswar - 9 m2

Out of the above two participants under the aegis of Council, M/s. Shahenaz Exports exhibited mainly floor coverings , curtains and cushions , coordinated sets of bed linen and table linen . M/s. Boyanika , Bhubaneswar exhibited predominantly Ikat designs of stoles, curtains in Silk , cotton & Tassar, Coordinated sets of bed linen , kitchen linen and Vegetable dyed Kotpad fabrics & Stoles . Council had put up its central promotional stall with wall posters depicting the Indian handwoven products, strength of Indian Handwoven textiles, Handloom Mark and the unique features of products bearing handloom mark and also representative samples of major handwoven export products namely Table Linen , Kitchen Linen , Stoles and scarves & floor coverings etc.,

During the event a delegation consisting of representatives of EPCs who were present in the event and a few export units accompanied by an ITPO official met Ms.Svetlana VOLOGZHANINA , Senior Vice President Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russian Federation , Leningrad region and invited their members to visit the event . During the meeting, Council’s official had an opportunity to brief them about Council, and its activities, handloom industry and also handed over Council’s publications such as Exporters Directory CD-ROM , Handloom Atlas of India and exhibitors catalogues brought out by the council exclusively for this event .

Though the event was intended to provide B2B platform for the manufacturers, exporters, importers, suppliers and buyers from India on one hand and their Russian counterpart on the other hand, the objective was not met as it was witnessed during the event that the visitor turnout happened to be mainly of General public rather than business visitors. With the result our member exhibitors could get hardly about 15 business visitors to their booth and as such no spot order was booked nor any worthy enquiries were generated.

Besides HEPC, other major participants in the show were SRTEPC (11 exhibitors); EPCH (10 exhibitors ) APEDA ( 9 exhibitors) CHEMEXIL (42 exhibitors ) FIEO ( 8 exhibitors ) and CLE ( 2 exhibitors )

- As far as technical specifications of the products are concerned , generally European standards are adopted.

- Import tariff for the products ranges around 40%.

- The importing routes are :

India - St. Petersburg/ Novorossisk/ Vladivostok - (Russia)

India - Kotka (Finland) - Russia

India - Xingang (China) - Russia

- In a market scenario ,wherein, the importation of items ( particularly textile products from India ) are not upto its potential and wherein there exists logistic problem in terms easy accessibility , a better penetration in Russian market may be achieved, if warehouse cum show room facility are established. It was informed that with a slump in the real estate market in Russia , many properties are available at an affordable price for rental / ownership purpose . Under the circumstances , setting up of a warehouse cum show room by private entrepreneurs / Govt. departments by hiring / purchasing the retail outlets would pave a way for a better market penetration in the long run.

- Further, participation in International trade events such Heimtextil Rossija having special focus on our hometextile product ranges ( predominant products category of our members ) on regular basis will definitely help in penetrating this market by establishing trade links..

- Some of the useful links which might be of trade interest are given below.

Indian Embassy in Russia :

http://www.indianembassy.ru/


Chamber of Commerce Commerce & Industry of the Russian Federation

http://eng.tpprf.ru/ - Russian Chamber of Commerce & Industry
www.mtpp.org - Moscow Chamber of Commerce & Industry
www.tpp.nnov.ru - NIZHNY NIVGOROD Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
www.spbcci.ru - St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry
www.lotpp.ru - Leningrad Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry


The Council was represented by Shri.P.Rangasamy, Superintendent at the above event.

Japan is one of the major importer of our handloom products. In order to maintain our market share in the global market continuous intervention is necessary in this market.

ITPO has been successfully organizing this exclusive India show of  furnishing items in Japan every year for the last 19 years.  This year, the show held concurrently with 30th India Garment Fair at the same venue ( Mydome) as well as in the same floor.

With the active support of the participants and industry, the event is well established and all major buyers of home furnishings look forward to visit this event for sourcing their requirements from India. The visitors include a cross section of companies like  leading Departments stores, Wholesalers, Importers, Retailers, Mail Orders Houses, Boutiques, etc. Over the years, it has found wide spread support amongst the Japan Apparel Federation, Japan Retailers Association, Japan Department Stores Association, Japan Textile Importers Association, Japan External Trade Organisation and many other such organizations.  The Fair has made immense contribution to the evolution of Indo-Japan textile trade.

HEPC coordinated the participation of with 10 member exporters in the 20th Indian Home Furnishing Fair, Osaka, Japan, from 28-30 July 2009. This is a successful event alternatively held in Osaka and Tokyo every year for the past 19 years.

All the major buyers of home furnishings look forward to visit this event for sourcing their requirements from India. This fair has been recognized as an excellent interactive platform for Indian exhibitors and Japanese buyers and has proved itself as a worthy catalyst for promoting India’s stakes in the high-profile and quality-conscious Japanese market.

The Indian participants presented a wide range of furnishings, fabrics and made-ups that are tailor-made to meet Japanese requirements in terms of quality and price competitiveness

The new product which fetched maximum enquiries was stoles and scarves. Next were floor coverings.

Participants feed back

Many of the participants have evaluated that the turn-out of buyers during the fair was good, and were happy about their participation in this fair. As per the feedback given by them, 169 number of serious buyers visited our 10 stalls during the 3 day fair, and spot orders worth Rs.59.78 lacs were booked, and enquires worth minimum Rs.1.56 crores were made, which may ultimately lead to concrete orders. 9 participants out of 10 wanted to repeat their participation through HEPC under Handloom export scheme. Dr.Md.Nazmuddin, Additional Development commissioner, has also visited our stalls.

The Handloom Export Promotion Council
Report on Participation

Macef(Autumn) 2009

Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy
4th to 7th September 2009

Fair Coordinated and report submitted by
Shri Lakshmi Narayan

The economy of Italy is multifarious in nature with almost the same total and per capita yield as Great Britain or France. It has few natural resources. In years, the economy in Italy has prospered to the extent that it is capable of importing maximum raw materials as well as 75 percent of the energy requisites of the country. Italy is one of the largest economies in the Euro-zone and is characterized by the predominant presence of small and medium sized industries. It is India’s fourth largest trading partner in the European Union. In terms of exports from India, Italy stands in the 11th position, while it stands 23rd in imports to India. Though the bilateral trade is still at modest levels, it has been growing at a steady rate with a yearly average of 30% and the maximum growth of 43% was witnessed in 2006-07

Major items of India’s exports to Italy are textile yarn and fabrics, apparel and clothing accessories, automobiles and components, chemical products, refined petroleum products, footwear, iron and steel, leather and leather products. Major items of India’s imports from Italy are machinery and mechanical appliances, basic chemical products, automotive components, engines, power generators, audiovisual devices, machine tools, precision equipment.

The Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) as a part of Indian Handwoven export promotion activities is participating in various Trade Fairs/Exhibitions/BSMs under aegis of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Keeping in view a growing market and importance of Macef Fair the Handloom Export Promotion Council has participated in 45th edition of Macef held at Milan, Italy from September 4th – 7th 2009. The fair was organized by M/s.Fiera Milano International SPA, Italy. Macef is one of the important exhibition and an international sourcing center for wide range of products including Home textile, Table linen, Kitchenware, Fabrics, etc. Macef Fair being held in Milan, Italy twice in a year viz., in February and September.

Traditional Italian products alongside innovated and globally famous Jewellery, home decoration, table and kitchenware, fashion accessories and textile products were displayed in Hall Nos.1-7, 9-11, 14 and 18. The exhibition has been confirmed as one of the largest and renowned all over the world. According to fair authority about 1600 companies have displayed their products in over 78 thousand sq. mtrs of area.

The fair highlights furnished by the fair authority are as follows:-

The Council has taken 144 Sqm. of space in Hall No.6 (Home Decoration) under the aegis of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and were allotted to 12 member exporters besides having Central Promotional stand of the Council.

The details of participants are as follows:

The few photographs taken during the Macef(Autumn)’09 are furnished below:-

The extract of feedback received from our twelve member participants are as follows:

• 1. 151 buyers visited their stands.
• 2. The majority of buyers were from Italy, Germany, Spain, Canada & Switzerland.
• 3. Spot orders worth of US $ 150000 booked by them.
• 4. Business enquiries worth of US $ 186500 were generated.
• 5. Most of the enquiries are expected to mature shortly.

Overall most of our participants were satisfied with their participation and some of them would like to repeat their participation in the fair. Shri Lakshmi Narayan, Regional Office, New Delhi, represented the Council.

Report on HEPC’s participation in

INDEX 2009 - THE LEADING TRADE INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Organised

by

DMG world Media Dubai Ltd

At

Dubai International Exhibition Centre, Dubai

Held during 14th to 17th November 2009

Submitted

By

V. Ratheesh,

Handloom Export Promotion Council,

No.34, Cathedral Garden Road,

Nungambakkam,

Chennai – 600034

Tel : +91-44-28278879

Fax : +91-44-28271761

E-mail : hepc@hepcindia.com

Website : www.hepcindia.com

INDEX FAIR AT A GLANCE

Highlights of the fair as reported by the fair authorities :

Participants feed back:

Preface

For the last few years, HEPC has been exploring the Middle East markets for home textile products, with a view to increase the exports of handloom products. In order to tap the potential market, during 2006, HEPC had participated in the Index fair-2006 on exploratory basis, and ascertained the outcome of the fair, which was very encouraging. The UAE market is fast emerging in home textiles and the recent statistics also revealed an increasing trend, Council participated in the Index fair -2009, held at Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, from 14th to 17th November 2009 along with 5 member participants with financial assistance from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry under Marketing Development Assistance scheme. Council had also put-up a Central Promotional Stall, where publications viz. Indian Exporters’ Directory, Handloom Atlas, and participants’ brochure were distributed to the visitors.

About UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) comprises of seven members: Abu Dhabi (the capital city), Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ral Al Khaimah and Fujairah. The total area of the country is about 83,600 square kilometres, much of it in Abu Dhabi emirate. Dubai, with an area of 3,885 square kilometres, is the second largest emirate. To the east, range of mountains lies close to the Gulf of Oman and forms a backbone through the Mussandam Peninsula. The western interior of the country, most of it in Abu Dhabi, consists mainly of desert interspersed with oases.

UAE – A Growing Market

• 1. The UAE’s GDP growth is forecast to average 5.1% a year from 2009 to 2013 (Source : the Economist, March 2009)
• 2. The economies of the wider MENA region including the GCC are forecast to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2009 (Source : IMF, February 2009)
  (this healthy GDP growth translates into significant business opportunities)
• 3. In the GCC there are 1878 ongoing projects worth a total of $ 1571 billion
• 4. In the UAE the total value of projects in operation is $698 billion
• 5. A further $ 582 billion projects currently being planned in the UAE

Economic Policy

The UAE and GCC interiors markets are now almost on a par with the EU, US and Japanese markets. A combination of high GDP per capita, businesses relocating to the UAE and high number of construction projects ensure that there is demand for furniture and interior products. The total forecast spend on interiors (including curtains, walling, doors, windows, fit out, furniture and equipment) in the GCC is estimated to be US$47, 1 billion in 2009 and US$56.9 billion in 2010. Each emirate enjoys considerable autonomy in managing its own affairs in matters unrelated to diplomacy and defense.

Official figures show that imports of furniture and interiors products to the Gulf region (which exceeded US$6.5 billion in 2006) are rising at a significant rate. The Middle East interiors market is now almost on a par with well-established markets such as the EU, the US and Japan. A growing number of businesses relocating to the UAE, the wealth and the ongoing development of the region have ensured that there is an on-going demand for furniture and interior products.

A large number of commercial and residential buildings, hotels, retail outlets and mixed-use developments will reach completion this year, and the ‘‘refit market’’ of existing buildings also provides a growing market segment. A staggering US$37.3 billion worth of interior projects will enter the UAE market in 2009, with an additional US$42.9 billion entering the following year.

General imports account for around 90% of consumption in the UAE, with China, India, the US, Japan, Germany, the UK and Italy being the most important import partners. On the US$3.3 billion UAE imports in 2008, general furniture represented US$1.11 billion, fabrics and floor coverings accounted for US$1.05 billion, lighting for US$742 million and ceramics for US$420 million. The UAE as well as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are net furniture importers ad feature fast growing construction sectors, therefore offering great prospects of profits for furniture exporters, both in the low and high end markets.

Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Indiaare the most important export destinations for UAE. A significant part of UAE exports consist of re-exported products (38.8%) – India was the top destination, followed by Iran and Iraq, underpinning the country’s position as the third most important re-export centre in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore. As a sub-sector to the interiors market, the overall value of the furniture market in the UAE is estimated to be around US$397 million for 2009. The contract furniture market is estimated to claim half of all furniture sales in the country and as further sub-sector, the office segment accounts for 27% of the Emirates’ contract furniture market.

Trade policy of the UAE Government

UAE Government has put the right fundamentals in place to support the country’s role as the regional trading hub for interior products:

• 1. A virtually tax-free environment
• 2. Free trading platforms
• 3. A thriving hospitality sector
• 4. A strong performing tourism industry
• 5. A growing number of businesses relocating to the UAE

Together with the proximity to emerging markets like the GCC Region and the Indian sub-continent, these factors contribute to an ongoing demand for furniture and interior products.

About Dubai :

Dubai, with an area of 3,885 square kilometres, is the second largest emirate. Dubai is situated on the banks of the Dubai Creet (a natural inlet from the Gulf) which divides the city into the Deira district to its north, and Bur Dubai on its south, the city ranks as the UAE’s most important port and commercial centre.

In business, the government of Dubai is committed to liberal, free market policies and to the creation of a business environment conductive to commercial activity. Oil contributes just 20% of economic production in Dubai, Trading, manufacturing and services (including tourism) now dominate the economy.

INDEX 2009 - IN DETAIL

The 19th edition of Index 2009, the leading trade interior design show in the Middle East, was held at Dubai International Exhibition Centre (Dubai World Trade Centre), UAE, during 14th to 17th November 2009. The event was sponsored by Al Nakheel, and organised by DMG world Media Dubai Ltd, a subsidiary of one of the worlds leading exhibitions and publishing companies (part of the Daily Mail & General Trust plc). His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, inaugurated the Exhibition and visited all the halls. The fair has been the meeting place for the interior design industry bringing together interiors manufacturers from across the world to showcase their products.  1002 exhibitors and 26 National Pavilions took part in the event showcasing various products from 55 different countries.  INDEX’s brand new focus on high-end design and innovation proved to be a hit with visitors and exhibitors alike, and feedback from the trade was overwhelmingly positive.  This year, the new features was the Design Talks, an informal and free seminal programme on the show floor ; Daniel Holguin’s and Victoria Simes’ Jewellery 4 Architecture, live design competition, the Contemporary Majilis Competition and the VIP Programme.

The product profile of the INDEX is high-end products for Furniture including antique and interior products. The following categories of products were displayed in the fair :

• 1. Accessories
• 2. Art
• 3. Flooring
• 4. Furniture
• 5. Interior Design Services
• 6. Kitchen & Bathrooms
• 7. Lighting
• 8. Outdoor living
• 9. Residential Furniture
• 10. Textiles

Out of the 55 exhibited countries, the following are the 5 leading exhibited countries:-

Overall there were 15 exhibitors from India (including HEPC’s participants), who participated through M/s. Comnet Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (Indian representative of DMG world Media Dubai Ltd).

Outcome of the fair

The following 5 member exporters, participated through Council and were located in Sheikh Rashid Hall : -

Our participants have displayed the products such as Linen, Curtains, Cushion covers, Carpets, Floor rugs, Polyster Shaggy, Bathmats, Crewel Fabrics, Accessories, Durries, etc. Most of the buyers have shown their interest in Carpets & Floor coverings, Curtains, Linen, Fabrics, Cushion covers, Table Linen, Kitchen linen, Bed linen, Bath linen and wall hangings

On the first day of the fair, the visitors’ in-flow was not encouraging, though there were many visitors were only retailers. The flow of the visitors in the 2nd and 3rd day of the fair was good. Some of the exporters got serious enquiries and one of our participant got spot order also. During the afternoon of the third day, the fair authority had opened their venue to the local public. During the final day (4th day),the MDA grant was disbursed to all 5 participants.

As per the feed back received from the participants 139 visitors have visited our participants’ stall. At the end of the 4 days fair, the sport order worth of Rs.7,05,000/- and enquiries worth of Rs.1,22,85,000/- has been generated. The summary of the same is furnished below:-

The report furnished by the fair authority’s states that, 19,617 unique visitors attended Index 2009 in 4 days versus 21,851 in 2008 in 5 days. Over the 4 days, Index saw a total of 25,456 visits including those who attended on more than one day. Index 2009 attracts 5% more visits per day than in 2008, and quality also was significantly better than in 2008.

As per the feed-back received from our member participants, few of them have expressed that the main competition faced by them was from the Chinese exhibitors, who were able to quote much lesser price, hence, many buyers were attracted to the stalls of Chinese exhibitors.

Conclusion :

• 1. Since the UAE market is fast emerging as a new market for home textiles and with increasing population in the GCC region particularly in Dubai with expansion in every sector extremely attractive new market is clearly visible for Home Textiles, Floor coverings and Fashion accessories.
• 2. The UAE’s GDP growth is forecast to average 5.1% a year from 2009 to 2013.
• 3. General imports account for around 90% of consumption in the UAE, with China, India, the US, Japan, Germany, the UK and Italy being the most important import partners. On the US$3.3 billion UAE imports in 2008, general furniture represented US$1.11 billion, fabrics and floor coverings accounted for US$1.05 billion.
• 4. Interiors, Architects and consultants to the furniture industry are holding the key in export of Indian Home Textile products to this region.
• 5. The fair was dominated by the Chinese & EU exhibitors by their number of participants & imposing pavilion construction.
• 6. The number of visitors was up by around 24% when compared to Index 2008.
• 7. Out of 5 participants, 3 expressed willingness to participate in the next year’s edition of Index.
• 8. Despite the prevailing global recession in world economy, the Index fair-2009 to an extent satisfied the expectation of our member participants.

In view of the above facts and the massive expansion taking place in GCC region particularly in Dubai, HEPC should consider participating in the future editions of Index fair. HEPC should take steps to increase the participants’ strength and construct Indian Pavilion to showcase the brand image of Indian Hand-woven in the coming years. However, our future participation should also invariably consider the recent financial recession faced by the Dubai economy.

Photographs of HEPC’s and participant’s stall

The council participated in the Domotex fair held during 16th to19th at Hannover Germany with 36 member participants. The fair was organized by Deutsche Messe, Hannover.

Every year exhibitor from all over the world participate in the Domotex fair, and display categories of a diverse array of carpets and floorcoverings attracting a high caliber audience of professional visitors from the wholesale and retailing sectors,skilled traders architecture and interior design. At Domotex Fair one can get the kind of product exposure in just four days that would otherwise take four months of business trips to find out. Besides the professional visitors coming to Hannover to get an overview of what the market has to offer, it is also indicated that picking up on the latest innovations and trends and placing orders were at the top of their list. Carpets / Floor coverings often serve as the centerpiece of modern living, bringing special coziness to the coffee table or inviting you to stretch out, relax and interact with others.

• - Range of display exhibit at Domotex, 2010 includes
• - Carpets/Rugs/ (Hand made)
• - Woven carpets /area rugs (Machine-made)
• - Textile Floor Coverings
• - (Rolls, tiles and ready made)
• - Resilient Floor Coverings
• - Wood and parquet flooring
• - Laminated coverings
• - Fibres, Yarns of Textiles

This year also the council has booked space directly with the fair authority for our participants as well as for council’s promotional stand. A full-fledged promotional stand for Council was set up for display and distribution of publicity materials, imparting information across the counter and meeting place with the buyers.

The following are member participants in the Domotex fair’2010

HEPC along with Carpet Export Promotion Council participated in the Domotex Fair, 2010 in Hall No. 23. Hand made Carpets are relocated to Halls 19 to 23 this year.

The fair commenced with great anxiety and enthusiasm among the participants. Inspite of tough economic climate there was a 12 percent rise in visitor’s attending the fair, which was an improvement over last year. Some 40000 professionals turned out to admire the products offered by 1395 companies from over 70 different Nations.Of the total of 22600 visitors from abroad, over 60 percent came from European Countries. The majority of visitors at this fair were once again retail and wholesale specialists.

Apart from the elaborate presentations by the Domotex exhibitors, the special shows, lectures and trade events also attracted big crowds, providing a mix of information and inspiration. One of the standout attractions was “Souk Deluxe”: This new trend forum for handcrafted carpets in Hall No.20 proved a magnet for interior decorators and wholesalers/ retailers alike. Visitors once again showed a strong interest in handmade and machine made woven rugs and carpets as well as in textile resilient floor coverings. There was a huge 30 percent rise in the sections of the show devoted to parquet and laminated flooring as well as installation, cleaning and application technologies,thus confirming that Domotex remains the worlds’premium showcase for floor covering of every description

The office of consulate General of India, Hamburg has extended full Co-operation besides personal visit by Mr.S.R.Patnaik,Vice Consul,and interacted with member participants. Shri. Dinesh Singh, Addl Development Commissioner (Handlooms) has been deputed from O/O.Development Commissioner (Handlooms), MOT, GOI, to ascertain information on all aspects including market trends in the present Global market.

As per the evaluation report submitted by our participants, 671 business visitors, visited the stalls and the spot orders to the tune of Rs.3.23 crores were booked, besides enquiry generated for Rs.16 crores.

A feedback meeting was held by the undersigned along with the exporters who participated the final day of the fair. The number of visitors and orders were found to be less to most of the participants. They also expressed a desire to be in one of the inter-connected display halls and this is being taken up with the fair authorities.

A meeting was also held with the fair authorities by the undersigned wherein exporters wishes were conveyed. Other issues like having Indian food cafeteria and better heating and lighting were also taken up with the fair authorities. Fair Authorities and exporters were very impressed with the stand construction done aesthetically by HEPC and expressed their appreciation of the same.

Report on Counil’s participation
In

40th Heimtextil Fair
held from
13th to 16th January 2010
at
Frankfurt, Germany

Tour Coordinated & Report submitted by

Smt.Beela Rajesh I.A.S

Executive Director

&
M.Anandabalaji,
Jr. Export Promotion Officer
Handloom Export Promotion Oouncil.

Handloom Export Promotion Council, being one of its efforts for the benefit of the handloom industry under the aegis of the O/o Development Commissioner of Handlooms & Textiles, Ministry of Textile, Govt. of India with the financial aid from various schemes of Govt. of India has organized the trade fair participation in the 40th Heimtextil Fair held from 13th to 16th January 2010 at Frankfurt, Germany. The fair was organized at the Messe Frankfurt Exhibition Grounds, Frankfurt. This trade fair has been organized by M/s. Messe Frankfurt Exhibitions Gmbh, Frankfurt. This is a concentrated home and contract hometextile show in which all the exporters and the importers over the globe mark their presence, to know about the trend and the upcoming market scenario. The Trends pavilion organized by the fair organizers conceits the latest and upcoming trends of the industry including the colours for the upcoming year.

About the fair:

This fair was organized by HEPC continuously and for the second time in consecutive years, Council has taken raw space directly from the fair authority and had built the stands. Last year, the fair was organized with about 29 members participants at an area of about 462 sq.mtrs. During the last year the total international al business scenario was under recession and hence the exports had a mixed trend of business.

During the current year – January 2010, the fair witnessed a total footfall (Visitors for the fair) of about 72000 from 120 countries which was a nominal rise of about 6% from the last years figures. The visitors were from all over the globe as this fair tends to the trend setter for the total international market.

As like the increase in the visitors for the fair, Council has also increased the number of member participation from 29 to 39 member exporters at an area of 570 sq.mtrs, which is a phenomenal growth in organizing the trade fair participation. As the fair authorities are very much concerned about the product profile that are to be exhibited, this year due to the increase in the numbers of people and since it covered overall members from allover India, HEPC had constructed Indian Hand wovens pavilion in Hall Nos. 6.3 and Hall 10.3, unlike last year at Hall 6.0. Moreover this year Hal No.6.0 has been closed by the fair authority themselves owing to the poor footfall reported by the erstwhile exhibitors. The Council had offered all its members, the built up stands containing maximum accessories required by any individual exporters hence minimizing the hazzles for ordering additional accessories by the exporters. HEPC had also put up a central promotional stall at an area of 21 sq.mtrs. The following exporters have participated in the event and exhibited major of the items as detailed.

As described earlier the hall locations of the members have been placed according to their profile of products to be displayed. At the central promotional stall put up by HEPC, the publicity materials like the participant brouchures, Indian Handwoven brouchures, Handloom Atlas and other publications published by HEPC were displayed / distributed. Moreover product clippings of various Indian Handwoven products like table linen, kitchen linen, bath linen, pillow covers, floor coverings etc, were displayed on the wall panels. This instance was well utilized the brand image of Indian Hanwovens and the Handloom Mark. The heritage, advantages, etc of the Handwovens were disseminated through this.

In addition to this Council has hired various other publicity services from the fair authority which include

1. "Optimo" – a brochure distribution service wherein all the visitors, press etc will be collecting the information and printed material about the exhibitors. This service helps them to easily identify the exhibitors.
2. "Lumio" – a self-lit display advertisement service in which we have advertised our members stall locations. This display is placed at the prominent location of the fair pathway so as to attract the visitors attention.
3. "Picolumio" – a tripod self-lit display advertisement service wherein too we have placed our advertisement to visit our member exporters stall locations. This has also been placed very well at the pathway of one of the main entrance.

These advertisement measures have resulted in good advertisement for our member exporters.

Observations at the fair ground:

The preliminary day of the fair was very busy with the stall contractors, as they were making necessary changes as per the requirement of the member exporters to place the accessories as per their needs. All the member exhibitors arrived well in time on the preliminary day. The display goods for most of the people have arrived well in advance or at right time, but for few people there were some difficulties faced for the first time in Germany at customs towards clearance of goods by the courier company M/s. Hex Courier and M/s TNT Courier. After ascertaining the situation the same was represented by Executive Director to the Consul (Commercial), Consulate of India, Frankfurt to do the needful to clear the same at the earliest. They also assisted to clear the same. Further there was a detailed discussion with the CGI officials viz. organizing a cultural event during the next edition of the fair, arranging an Indian restaurant to supply food to the member exhibitors, etc.

Finally all the goods of the Indian member exhibitors reached the previous day of the fair allowing them to display, even though at the last hour but not late for the show.

The courier meant for HEPC reached on time at our stand in the fair site.

The fair started off and on the first day some of the exporters had some responses at Hall 6.3 and a mixed response in Hall 10.3. The buyer movement was slow on the first day due the cancellation of many flights due to bad weather. However the same picked up from the second day and our member exhibitors had mixed responses. The response was encouraging enough through out the fair. Many of the members received good enquiries and also received confirmed orders.

Shri.Mohd.Nazumudin, Additional Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Govt. Of India visited the fair and ascertained the progress of the member exporters business, the general business trend of the fair.

Consul (Commercial) along with other officials of the O/o CGI visited the fair at which time, they reviewed the situation of the receipt of goods of all members.

A delegation from the Govt. of Tamilnadu led by Shri. K.K.S.R.Ramachandran, Minister for Handlooms & Textiles, Govt. of Tamilnadu accompanied by Shri.Rajagopal, Secretary for Handlooms & Textiles, Govt. of Tamilnadu, Shri. Chandrasekar, Director for Handlooms & Textiles, Govt. of Tamilnadu visited the fair and met all our member exporters and discussed the progress of the business at the fair.

Another team of delegation from Govt. of Orissa led by Minister of Textiles, Govt. of Orissa, along with the Secretary for Textiles visited the fair. They ascertained the business aspects for the "Boyanika" – cooperative setup of Govt. of Orissa, who had exhibited through us.

As the fair authority had not provided us the complete eligible number of exhibitor passes, we represented to the fair authority and obtained some more passes and distributed the same to wanting members.

During the first day of the fair, we met the Heimtextil fair authority (Ms.Ulrich-Director, Ms.Almut, Ms.Sabine Mueller) as per the fixed appointment to discuss various issues like

1.Requested for reduction in space rent for group participation. They denied any additional discount other than early bird discount, as it is their management policy decision.
2.Regarding the location they have said that they will look into the possibilities and try to relocate us in center rather than in the extreme end.
3.Requested details for conducting an Indian cultural event during the next edition of the fair. They have asked us to sent the concept proposal at the earliest.
4.They have also indicated that the council should be more cautious about the display product profile and stick on to the product profile designated to the halls.

Ms.Sezen & Ms.Berna from the EVTEKS fair authorities, Turkey visited our stall to ascertain about the participation in the upcoming edition of EVTEKS fair at Istanbul, Turkey. The space allocation was discussed with them who inturn have told that they would try to relocate but inspite of which assured that the current location is also one of the prominent places in Hall 3.

Mr.Johnson, Manager, HKTDC, HongKong fair authority visited our stall to discuss about the hall location in the upcoming event. As we were requesting for a good location, he had offered us the location in the hall 5 and assured that the location will be good enough. In addition to this, he had also offered few other promotional packages free of cost for HEPC viz. self-lit display board, a vertical hanging poster on the pavilion. Earlier they have offered few other packages like one official visit, free of cost promotional booth for the council.

The fair authorities from Heimtextil, Russia had also visited the stand in order to ascertain the possibilities of us participating in the upcoming edition. It has been represented to them about the high cost and requested them to offer us any special package price for group participation.

Ms.Azmi from Messe Frankfurt, India visited the stand to discuss about the feedback of our members regarding the fair. She also inquired about the Council’s status of participating in the upcoming edition of Heimtextil India.

About 921 buyers have visited our member stalls from countries like Greece, Denmark, Chile, Portugal, Argentina, Columbia, Russia, Morocco, Norway, Israel, Cyprus, Mexico, Scotland, Albania, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, Austria, Finland, Korea, Japan, Crotia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, U.S, U.K etc. The total trade enquiries generated for the member participants was to a tune of about Rs. 21, 33,79,000-. The spot orders booked by the exporters was to a tune of about Rs. 7,14,58,000-.

General Assessment of the fair:

Primarily the fair attracted about 72,000 visitors viz. International growth of about 6 % that has created an affirmative atmosphere at Heimtextil 2010. Generally there had been a demand for creativity, design and sustainable quality of products for the international market. The trade visitors from more than 120 countries took advantage of the leading international trade fair for home and contract textiles to replenish their stocks and to gain fresh inspiration for the new season.

Heimtextil 2010 presented the latest products and trends of 2,521 exhibitors from 60 countries it was reported that the atmosphere at Heimtextil 2010 was also very good. A Greater internationality than ever before was reported at the Heimtextil which seems to be a driving force for the global textile sector. This assessment is confirmed by the statistics of the event, which has continued to increase significantly, particularly in international terms.

The exhibitor from outside Germany were very high at about 85 percent. The event has also grown in terms of internationality on the visitor side. While the number of German visitors remained stable compared to 2009 at over 25,000, there was an increase of six percent in the number from abroad.

This year, 65 percent of visitors came from outside Germany. Of the exhibitors, 2,140 were foreign companies.

After Germany, the best-represented exhibitor nations included Turkey, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. Asian exhibitors came primarily from India, China, Pakistan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Quality, design, creativity and sustainability the key to recovery Themes, products and ideas to counteract last year’s difficulties with creativity and specific solutions were in demand. Particularly well received in this connection was the Trend Forum, an elaborate special area showing the trends for 2010 / 2011 using products of Heimtextil exhibitors. The expert team of six renowned designers from six countries prepared four trend themes – from Eco de Luxe to spontaneous creativity, from simplicity distinguished by high quality to the contrast between reality and fantasy.

The demand for quality, design, creativity and sustainability also grew with respect to the products on show at the fair with wallpaper, sun protection systems, contract textiles and design being especially sought after. The level of visitor interest in these product groups rose by up to five percent.

The next Heimtextil in Frankfurt will be held from 12 to 15 January 2011.

The trade fair participation was coordinated by Smt. Beela Rajesh, I.A.S, Executive Director & Mr.M.Anandabalaji, Jr. Export Promotion Officer of the Council.

REPORT ON COUNCIL’S PARTICIPATION IN

PRET-A-PORTER , PARIS

23-26th JANUARY’2010

Background

“Change” is the only “Constant” currently being witnessed in every sphere of world economy. Handloom industry is no exception to this. Handloom industry is known for its significant influence in the traditional attire of Indian population in the domestic market segment . However, in the international market, hometextile products share a larger pie in the export basket of Indian handwoven products. .Handloom Export Promotion Council plays a major role in product promotion by participating in all major International events pertaining to hometextile products around the world thus providing ample opportunity for market exploration and expansion by exporters of same .In the recent times, it is found that the Handwoven products are making a fashion statement with its contemporary style in the highly fashion oriented western market in the form of scarves , stoles, shawls etc as a part of fashion accessories

A little extra warmth, a glint of fashion and a little hint of style, scarves and stoles define it the best way. It is a known fact that fashion and time stops for none and keep changing , however, time never turns back but fashion returns again in the fashion cycle wrapped up in new colors and varied hues and textures. Scarves and stoles had at a point of time in the ancient times limited to elderly ladies and gentlemen, but today they make a style statement for all age groups. The best thing about wearing scarves and stoles is that it adds glamour and elegance to any clothing. Soft, luxurious, warm, cool and comfortable, scarves and stole have all the qualities to be coordinated with any outer wear be it sweater, shirt, top or anything for that matter and for any season be it an autumn/winter or spring/summer . The scarves and stoles go along with every ethnic, contemporary, western or Indian wear. Be it jeans, salwar-suit, skirt top, sarong or anything for that matter. For this the reason , scarves and stoles have gained phenomenal popularity not only in India but in various countries worldwide.

Since ancient times, scarves have been in usage in one or the other form fulfilling various purposes and requirements of men and women alike. Earlier, these scarves were associated with religious ties or customs but with the advancements of time, they have redefined their values in the fashion world and have been adopted and accepted by all in different forms. It is believed that usage of scarves and stoles is limited to the fairer sex, however, men have proven this belief completely wrong. Today, men flaunt scarves in various styles subtle and sober styles. With this increasing scope and utility , scarves & stoles have gained a niche market for themselves with all kind of people from celebrities to common people across the world.

Being a narrow width fabric , scarves & stoles are ideally suited for handloom sector for an economically viable production than in mechanized powerloom sector . There are many manufacturers particularly in Central and Eastern part of India weaving such contemporary products which are ideally suitable for the western market.

Considering the market potential for Scarves & Stoles , HEPC has evolved a strategy to identify suitable fairs for participation by its members for a better market penetration for such fashionable items in the International market . In the process , Council identified “Pret- A- Porter” as one such events happening in Paris -the fashion capital / capital of creation of the world to flaunt our products .

About Pret-A-Porter…

Pret- A- Porter, Paris- the leading international fashion rendezvous is a worldwide recognized event that signs several fashion events. It is happening twice a year- one catering to spring /summer and the other Autumn/Winter season. . Pret- A-Porter brings together labels, connects buyers, incites collaborations between fashion and artists from all horizons and is visited by buyers from more than 45 countries during each edition and the event is considered to be a Hub of Fashion .

HEPC’s participation at Pret-A-Porter- January 2010 ….

Council participated in Pret – A- Porter fair held in Paris during 23-26th January’2010 with the following eight member delegation by taking 78 sq.mtrs . The product profile of our participants are given below.

Including Council’s participants there were nearly 80 exhibitors from different parts of India participated in this event and most of their product included scarves & Stoles , fashion jewelleries, fancy bags etc .

Echoing the sentiments of global economy which is on its revival path , Pret-A-Porter attracted a sizeable attendance in terms of exhibitors and visitors and the average foot fall during the event was satisfactory . 8 Exhibitors under the aegis of HEPC had about 149 visitors in total and booked spot order worth of about Rs.37 lakhs and business enquiries worth of about Rs.1.15 Crores were generated .

The fact that the buyers from all over the world ranging from USA, UK , LAC , Canada, West Indies , almost all EU countries visited the event establish the event as a premium one for the fashion market.. As per the report published by fair authorities , buyers from 104 countries attended the event. 59.7% French visitors and 40.3% foreign visitors with a strong up surge in Italian and Spanish buyers Among buyers present at the fair, the fair authorities confirmed the visit of the following prominent :Printemps , Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marche, Lambert Associates or Mint for France La Rinascente, Corso Como and Zap for Italy , Saks, Neiman Marcus , Henri Bendel for the united states, Isetan, HP France , Plaza House , Bus Stop for Japan, EI Corte Ingles, Gruppo Inditex fro Spain , Fenwick , House of Fraser , Harvey Nichols for England , Galeries Lafayette for Germany etc.,

A glimpse of few of our Members’ pavilion at Pret – A- Porter

Observation During Fair ……

• Our members and other Indian exhibitors were placed in GOEASY sector branded as accessories sector located in Level 1 of Hall 7. which had 3 levels . The entry through Level 1 for Hall 7 ensured a good flow of visitors .
• Many exhibitors were repeat participants and been participating for years together.
• Pret-A-Porter showcases anything and everything related to fashion and fashion accessories such as Menswear, Womenswear , Childrenswear Initimate Apparel , Swim wear & Beach wear, Bridal wear , Scarves & Stoles, Bags , Fashion Jewelleries
• Textile Jewelleries has imposed itself as the must-have of the moment. There is nothing surprising in that at a time when recuperation is a new way of creation. Little pieces of fabrics are real materials for creation . Just like Wool, cords and ribbons . Loose silk yarn like little creepers mixed with fine pearls and the bangles made of tissue etc., are few examples.
• Scarves & Stoles of Deep shades of Brown, Blue , Black in prints predominantly with value addition such as embroidered , bead work preferably in materials such as wool and their blends , linen and their blends , synthetics to provide the required warmth ness were the most sought item for this edition of the event . However, for the Spring / Summer edition , bright shades of light and medium hues in cotton or their blends , silk or their blends , regenerated cellulosic fibres like viscose and their staples and their blends will be most preferred items . Analyzing this seasonal variations in requirements, our country even though is known for its multi fibre base, has an edge over the competitors particularly for the Spring /Summer season as India can offer a variety of fibre combinations such as cotton, silk etc than compared to Autumn/Winter season which requires wool and fibres of similar physical characteristics, wherein, comparatively India has less price competitiveness. Hence, our participation in September will be more rewarding.
• Effectiveness of a season whether it is a winter or summer has some influence on textile trade more particularly in case of Stoles & Scarves. A good winter season this year in almost all EU countries and other parts of the world resulted in clearance of stocks in the show room racks, hence, a bright outlook for the order position for the next season and this was reflected during the event as many buyers were showing no hesitation in placing the orders if the product met all their requirements.
• Maison & Objet – a fair even though meant for different product category such as home products etc happening in Paris around same time as Pret- A-Porter is an added attraction . This is also one of the established fairs which attracts lot of visitors from across the world

It has always been an earnest endeavor on the part of HEPC to provide a right platform for the manufacturers and exporters of scarves and stoles to showcase their products and the same has been accomplished by way of our participation in this event. It is worth repeating our participation in both editions of the event with able support from the ministry. P.Rangasamy, Superintendent of the Council represented HEPC in this event.

Evaluation of Feedback from Member Participants

HEPC' Coordination

Preparation By Exporters

Turnout of Buyers

Quality of buyers

Handloom Export Promotion Council

Report on Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Spring) 2010

20th to 23rd February 2010

India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida

The 29th Edition of Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Spring) 2010 was held at India Exposition Mart Limited from 20th to 23rd February 2010. The fair was inaugurated by Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles with the lamp lighting on the morning of 20th February 2010, in the presence of Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, Ms.Alka Arora, Additional DC (Handicrafts), Mr.Rohit Bhrdwaj, Jt. Director, O/o. DC (Handicrafts), Mr. Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman EPCH, members of the trade, Ministry Officials leading congregation of foreign buyers, Foreign and Indian journalists and Indian Exporters. Dr.Md.Nazmuddin, Additional DC (Handloom) was also present during inauguration.


The inaugural function started with traditional lamp lighting, release of fair Directory, etc… by Smt. Panabakka Lakshmi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles. In her inaugural address Hon’ble MOS(T) congratulated EPCH for it’s noteworthy efforts towards the growth & development of handicraft sector. MOS(T) has stated that the fair has played a positive & important role in marketing of Indian Handicrafts world wide for the last 15 years,

Touching upon Government initiatives, MOS(T) has stated that the Government of India has launched various flagship prgrammes and at present skill development was taken as one of the flagship programmes which enhances the skill of our artisans who are the backbone of handicraft sector. The Hon’ble Minister has congratulated the organizers and best wishes to all the participants for successful participation.

According to fair authority, there are 1250 leading manufacturers and exporters, besides mart owners, have displayed vide range of Handicrafts and Textile products including Home Furnishing, Floor Covering, made-ups such as bedspreads, cushion covers, bed linen, table linen, decorative table cloths, rugs, duvets and quilts, patchwork, curtains, throws besides fashion accessories such as scarves, stoles, etc.

HEPC has booked 8 Marts from India Export Mart Ltd., G. Noida & allotted to 7 member exporters (retained one mart for central promotional stand of the Council) for participation in IHGF (spring) 2010.

The following member exporters have participated in IHGF (Spring)’10 through HEPC:-

In IHGF (Spring) 2009:

During IHGF(Spring) 2009 there were total of 33 Foreign Buyers, 11 Buying Agents & 12 business visitors visited our 7 member exporters stalls. It was ascertained that spot orders worth of Rs.50,000/- and enquiries worth of Rs.23 lakhs have been generated during the four days of fair.

In IHGF (Spring) 2010:

The extract of feedback received from our Seven member participants is as follows:

• 42 Business visitors visited the stall of our seven member participants.
• The sport order worth of Rs.22.50 lakhs has been booked by the 7 participants
• The business enquiry worth of Rs.1.10 Crores has been generated during the 4 days of the fair.

HEPC participants’ have received inquires for products viz. Table Linen, Cushion Cover, Bath Linen, Carpet & Floor covering, Throw & Rugs & Kitchen Linen.

Dr. Md. Nazmuddin, Additional Development Commissioner (Handloom), O/o. Development Commissioner (Handloom), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India has visited the fair & interacted with all the HEPC member-exporters participants.

The seven member participants participated through the Council have expressed their satisfaction over the business and almost all of them are interested to participate in next edition of the fair through the HEPC.

Shri R. P. Rajalingam, Export Promotion Officer has coordinated the event.

The next Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (Autumn) ’10 will be held from 15-18th October 2010.

HANDLOOM EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL

REPORT ON PARTICIPATION IN TEX-STYLES INDIA’2010

(24th to 27th February 2010)

PRAGATI MAIDAN, NEW DELHI

The 16th edition of “Tex-Styles India” organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) was inaugurated by Mrs. Rita Menon, Secretary (Textiles) in the presence of Dr. Subas Pani, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, ITPO and other dignitaries.


There are 165 exhibitors have participated in “Tex-Styles India 2010” fair in a Gross area of 13500 sq. mtrs. in Hall Nos. 12 & 12A. The products on display are Home Furnishings & Made-ups, Fabrics, yarn etc. The special features are Trend Forum, Theme Pavilion, Fabric Folio, Designer Gallery, Handloom Sector, Silk Mark Galleria, Power loom Sector, etc. As per ITPO press Release, Business worth of Rs.156 crore has been generated at the fair. This year apart from a large number of domestic buyers, over 730 foreign visitors from 86 countries have visited the fair.

The Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) has participated in this fair under Marketing & Export Promotion Scheme of O/o Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles with 39 member exporters in an area of 600 sqm out of which 9 are Handloom Export Scheme (erstwhile DEPM) beneficiaries from across the country to market test their products. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad has participated through HEPC with six mega clusters products for the first time. All our member participants have been provided with NIFT trainees to put-up display of their exhibits in an international standard, as most of them are first time participants in any International fairs.

The following member exporters have participated in IHGF (Spring)’10 through HEPC:-

One of our member participants M/s. Osyrus, New Delhi has been awarded “Silver Trophy” for the best display under Made-up Category by the fair organizer, ITPO.

According to the feedback received from our member participants there are 477 Business visitors have visited our member participant’s stalls from Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan. Spot orders worth of Rs.95,79,775/- has been booked & enquiry worth of Rs.2,33,03,900/- has been generated during the 4 days of fair. The orders booked were for the products Table Linen, Kitchen Linen, Bed Linen, Curtain, Cushion Cover, Table Covers, Scarves, Silk Stoles, Shawls, Bags, Floor Coverings, Bath Mats, Wall Hangings, Fabric,

Shri S.S. Gupta, Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Smt. Meenu S. Kumar, Addl. Development Commissioner, Dr. Mohd. Nazamuddin, Addl. Development Commissioner and Shri M.Nagarajan, Business Promotion Officer, HEPC have visited the fair and interacted with participants.

Shri R.P.Rajalingam, E.P.O., HEPC has coordinated the Fair.

(R.P.RAJALINGAM)
Export Promotion Officer.