Celebrating the 51st edition of India International Garment Fair which recently concluded in New Delhi saw 975 buyers and 1399 buying agents converge to explore displays by 378 exporters from across the country. As usual women’s wear dominated the show with only 16 exporters showcasing menswear and 14 kidswear. The organizers claim that the event generated business revenue worth Rs. 1,000 crore and with business worth the same amount in the pipeline. Team Apparel Online talks to participants on the value they drive from exhibiting…
Apparel sourcing events are considered to be among the best platforms to meet new buyers but over the last few editions, IIGF has seen dwindling number of quality buyers. However, the number of participants has continued to increase, raising a pertinent question as to what exactly the exporter is getting from this fair. In the recent edition, there were some companies which were having turnover of more than Rs.100 crore, some even above Rs. 50 crore, while many companies had turnover of above Rs. 25 crore. It is also true that traditionally more than 50 per cent of the total visiting buyers are boutique or small buyers. Yet, exporters get value out of the fair and return year after year for the event with great expectations.
Most of the medium and small sized exporters claim that though almost 20 to 30 buyers visited their booth during the three-day show and discuss about the product, pricing and related issues, but finally on an average when it comes to shipment, one or maximum two of them place any order. Not only that, there is also no surety that the same buyer will give orders in the future. Surprisingly, a majority of exporters are happy even with the above described scenario. As Nitesh Kumar Sogani of M.N. Enterprises, Jaipur, running a factory of 300 machines says, “Regular buyers will visit our factory and they do not need to meet us here, so the main attraction is new buyers. Though this is getting tougher and in this edition I met buyers who are not ready to pay even for samples, how will he pay for the shipment, yet even if we are able to identify one good buyer in these three days, the fair is successful for us.”
For exporters from far flung areas, the fair is a good ground to meet regular customers and showcase latest collections. “In the last fair we interacted with 20 buyers, but finally only one of them placed an order. Though it is not worth to participate in that way, but since we operate out of Pushkar, we can attend old buyers regularly from here with comfort,” reasons Lalit Khatri, Director, Rudraksh Exports, Pushkar. One cannot deny the fact that a regular buyer will first meet up with his existing vendors, and only if he needs something extra, which is not being provided by his existing suppliers will he explore another vendor. The experience of many of the regular participants suggests that a majority of the buyers require one or two new vendors every time.
As the IIGF has been the breeding ground for small and boutique buyers, most of the companies exhibiting are working with small orders like 250 pieces to 500 pieces. However, to say that buyers with bigger demands do not visit the fair would be wrong and many first-time buyers to India or the fair prefer to experiment with smaller orders initially, but with time they place good volume business with the vendors they develop from the fair. United India Exports, which has a 100-machine factory in Noida, has been participating at the IIGF for the past eight years and Mohd. Aslam, Director, United India Exports has thrived on the business generated from the event. “Few years ago I got a buyer and he offered an order of 400 pieces, and now his single invoice is of 1,50,000 Euro and in a season he places orders of near about 2,25,000 Euro. There is always a chance that I can get same kind of buyer in this show again,” says Aslam. He also argues in favour of ‘recall value’ as a buyer may come continuously to a booth year after year, but may not place order, yet it creates an image of a stable vendor. “He can recommend you to another buyer that requires the products you have. So the fair is not about getting a few buyers, it is for consistent and committed presence for long-term business growth,” avers Aslam.
[bleft]“Participating at a fair should be treated as a long-term investment so that the buyer can recognize you and give repeat orders. On the other hand fairs are a good platform for learning and improvements.” – Rajiv Diwan, CEO, Ma’am Arts[/bleft]
Consistency of participation is one of the biggest reasons for many regular exhibitors to be at the show. “Size and numbers of buyers present at the fair depends on the markets, demand and supply conditions, AEPC or anybody else cannot do much if people don’t have enough money to buy at the retail front,” says – Ravi Poddar, MD, Cheer Sagar, Jaipur.
Every exporter has logic for participating based on past experience. The bigger exporters view their participation as a long-term strategy and learning exercise. The last four shows for Ma’am Arts, Jaipur were disappointing, still the company participated this time and got four good stores from different countries on day one itself and they are quite hopeful that discussions will be materialized. “One should not look at participation in the short-term to finalize order with one buyer and deliver one or two shipments. Sometime you may not have the product according to the buyer’s need,” says Rajiv Diwan, CEO, Ma’am Arts.
[bleft]“We are regularly participating for existence in the market as we have to show our presence. If you are present in the marketplace some buyer will come.” – Ravi Poddar, MD, Cheer Sagar[/bleft]
Nancy Krafts, another big company of Delhi is taking part since the last three shows after a gap of 10 years and terms the initiative as an opportunity for its merchandising team. “Because of our participation the team sets a target to develop new samples and also gets the opportunity to meet new buyers, otherwise they work as routine,” says Narinder Pal Singh, MD of the company, who also participates as he feels it is the best place for PR with fellow exporters.
Not only the regular participants, but first-time exhibitors are equally enthusiastic to be a part of IIGF, Girisons Impex, Pooja Empres, both from Jaipur and Creative Design Studio, Surat are a few names to mention. Shiv Dayal Chhipa of Pooja Empres was satisfied as many buyers showed interest in Rajasthan based product which was his USP. Interestingly a company from Nepal, My Fashion, Kathmandu was also at the fair with a hippie look collection. Participated first time, Harpal Singh Gambhir of Majestic Handicrafts, Delhi is exporting mainly to Brazil and USA was quite satisfied. “We have very less experience of European markets and few worth buyers here discussed a lot about their requirements and our products that will definitely help us to develop the product for their market,” said Harpal.
