The stage has been set for the 47th India International Garment Fair and the organizing team led by the dynamic Convener of IIGF Lalit Thukral is very upbeat of its preparations including new features and services that will enhance the value of the fair. No doubt, in the last five years the stature of the fair has changed and from a boutique fair, the event is now attracting bigger buyers with over hundred stores across the world. This turnaround has been a slow progression as the IIGF upgrades the quality of participants and also the services to offer opportunities to bigger buyers to initiate or expand business in the country. “IIGF has emerged as a platform of trust and faith for exports, buyers and buying agents alike,” says Thukral.
Covering over 8196 square metres of floor space, the July 2011 edition of the IIGF is a major pull for the buyers and exhibitors. “We have over 500 sq. metres of waiting space and for the first time ever, buyer registrations have already crossed 1200 international visitors, with still more than two weeks to go. I expect the buyer count to cross 2000,” says a confident Thukral. The visitation figure including the local buying agency delegations is projected to touch 2500 serious buyers… of the already registered buyers, 500 are new buyers, visiting India for the first time.
“The response to our online registration has been phenomenal and each buyer has been verified to ensure that no entry is given on false claims,” avers Thukral. The huge buyer response is attributed to the tireless efforts of the team which has used technology to the maximum to motivate buyers to visit the fair. Besides tele-calling, e-mailers and advertisement in all major apparel magazines of the world, google search optimization tool has been used to increase awareness of the fair. “We got many enquiries from buyers who have never visited India and we have sponsored 100 such buyers to explore the sourcing opportunities in accessories, kidswear, menswear and ladies wear for S/S 2012,” adds Thukral.
What has really been a high for the IIGF team is the quality of buyers who have registered. Some of the $ 100 million and above companies who have committed to visit the fair include Cortefiel, Monoprix, Disco, Ripley, Fox, Castro, Renner, Golf, Redcats, Takisado Osaka, Lucci, Crazy line, LLP Poland, Carrol and Mango. LLP Poland with 600 stores in Poland, Russia and Czechoslovakia, and Carrol with 500 stores in France are visiting the country for the first time. “Besides our marketing efforts, the fact that buyers are increasingly looking to shift business from China to India has helped the fair to be a crowd puller,” reasons Thukral.
To facilitate what the organizers are calling ‘match making’, the website of the fair has provisions for buyers to fix up appointments in advance with the participants based on the products and manufacturing capabilities as detailed in the exhibitors listing. This way the buyers can do their homework in advance and not waste a whole day in identifying the right supplier for their needs. At the fair also touch screens will be mounted at strategic positions for easy navigation of the fair based on various search needs like product category, company name, hall number, and so on.
Another innovative service that the IIGF offers to the buyers at this edition is the facility to meet buying agents that could watch their interest in India. For this, the IIGF has sent mailers to buying agents interested to offer their services to send details about their company, including buyers they work with, services they can offer and volumes of business already done. “We are not giving the list of buyers to the buying agents, otherwise it will be very chaotic, but instead we are sending the list of buying agents interested to work with new accounts to the buyers. They can evaluate the list based on their individual needs and then request meeting during the fair,” details Thukral.
Even from an exhibitors point of view the 320 confirmed participants are more clued into what an international sourcing fair should look like. In fact 50% of the participants are using their own fabricators for customized stalls to attract attention. At least 150 exhibitors have upgraded the size of their stall and there is much less number of smaller stalls than before. “We have 44 exhibitors with 36 sq. metres space while in the earlier edition there were only 12,” says Thukral.
On the special request of AEPC Chairman, Premal Udani and EPC Chairman, Ashok Rajani, the fair is being kicked off for the first time on the eve of the event with a gala entertainment night for all the invited buyers at Le Meridien. In addition the Guest of Honour at the formal inauguration will be Dr William Fung, Deputy Chairman of Li & Fung, one of the biggest buyers from India. “The energy and planning that has gone into the fair and the response from the buyers makes us confident that this edition will be the biggest and best show ever,” concludes Thukral.
