Despite being an important fair, the 6th edition of the HKTDC organized Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair turned out to be disappointing for more than 100 Indian Home Furnishing companies who participated. “This time we could only get 12 buyers while last year the figure was 40. The last day of the 4 days exhibition was quite a waste and quality of buyers was not up to our expectation,” reveals Sachin Pahal, Buyer Account Manager, Anubhav Terry Craft India, Panipat. The feeling was shared by most exhibitors, many of whom are regular participants. “We have been participating for the last four years but next time we will take part in Heimtextil rather than this fair. We felt cheated,” bemoaned Ramesh Verma, Founder, Diamond Export, Panipat and Chairman, President Handloom Exports Manufacturing Association, Panipat. The exhibition saw maximum participation from Panipat and Delhi-NCR based companies along with a few from South India. Easter vacation along with the concurrent Canton Fair in China was seen as the major reasons for low buyer footfall during the exhibition.
The buyers who visited the fair were mostly trading agents of Hong Kong and from countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Australia and Korea, whereas visitors from EU were very rare, which was one of the major reasons for the disappointment of Indian participants. Vinit Pathak, Merchandising Manager, IACS Noida informs, “We can expect an order execution from 3 to 4 new buyers whom we have met at the fair, but their small quantities are an issue.” This, however, has proved advantageous for participants such as Surinder Sharma, Owner, Abbs International Inc., Panipat who claims, “A few Japanese buyers may work with us because their smaller quantities are possible from exporters like us in India. I was surprised that Japanese buyers were keen on prices. Our edge in cotton products and better quality compared to Pakistan and Bangladesh proved a major support for us.”
