Apparel August 2019 Apparel August 2019 issue | Page 51

69TH NGF SPECIAL
air conditioning—are not fully available, and so
on. In the past, we have had certain complaints
regarding these issues. So we are learning every
time. We keep innovating, we keep evolving.
For example, we now have registration facilities
behind Hall 8, too, which divides the crowd
between many places, hence reducing the overall
waiting time. We have, in fact, not taken Hall 7A,
which we had in the past because that tended
to get a little isolated, and participants in that
hall were not visited by many Retailers. So this
is always a challenge—how do we maximise
participation? The other challenge—how do we
enable every Member, who wants to participate,
to get a stall?—also remains. Unfortunately,
this time, too, we had about 150 people on the
waiting list as we could not accommodate them
all. We have even brought down the maximum
stall size by a certain amount. Some participants
are unhappy because they wanted larger stalls
but it has enabled us to increase participation by
eight to 10 per cent. Another challenge in this
complex is to ensure that there are no leakages
from the ceiling, and since it is the month of July,
no flooding on the ground level. God has been on
our side and rain has not been very heavy during
these four days; so that problem has not
been encountered.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RECENT
ADDITION, HALL 8 FOR KIDS’ WEAR?
The experience of introducing Hall 8 has been
much better than expected. I think that we have
done a great job in trying to almost reinvent that
hall as it was in an absolute shambles when
we had taken possession. But with the help of
modern technology, we virtually built a (tent-like)
structure within the old structure. The participants
in Hall 8 are extremely satisfied too.
NO AMOUNT OF TECHNOLOGY
OR DIGITISATION CAN REPLACE
THE FORCE OF A FACE-TO-
FACE INTERACTION AND
RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING.
DESPITE THE ONSLAUGHT OF
DIGITISATION, MANUFACTURERS
ACROSS THE SPECTRUM ARE
CHOOSING TO PARTAKE IN THE FAIR
TO THIS DAY. WHAT DRAWS THEM
HERE YEAR AFTER YEAR?
I think it is obvious. Relationships cannot be
built on a computer. No amount of technology
or digitisation can replace the force of a face-to-
face interaction and relationship-building. Today,
in our Industry, rapport-building between the
Buyer and Seller is a crucial part of how business
grows and develops. Even those who are not
actually booking orders during the Fair find it
useful to participate simply because they can
meet 40 or 50 per cent of their customers face-
to-face, interact with them, and understand their
requirements and problems, if any. So I think that
is a major reason why Manufacturers still choose
to participate in the Fair.
WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS FOR
THE PLATINUM LIST OF RETAILERS?
The Platinum List consists of Retailers who either
have multiple outlets, or those spread across
cities, who are extremely large in their buying
capacity. It also includes Retailers who are
extremely ethical, solid, and reliable paymasters.
We keep updating this list every year. This year,
we have added almost 150 Retailers to it.
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