TEXTILES INDIA
about good footfall, but no buyers
were to be seen, and only the local
public was visiting the show. There
was no point wasting time here and
handling the local public.”
Rajat Agarwal, Partner, DS
Exports, Noida, highlighting
womenswear and scarves at the
fair, shared some similar views
as he informed, “It was a very bad
experience. Even on the second day,
the local crowd was coming with no
clue about this kind of setup. They
were touching and pulling down
our products, and even asking us
for one single piece. We put in our
effort, cost and time to make these
samples. It was quite frustrating
to see such behaviour of the public.
Besides, when we were talking to the
buyers, local people were interfering
in our conversation…; now this was
very disappointing… We exhibited
because of the B2B nature of the
fair, and not B2C. We sometimes
felt we were probably in the wrong
show and sho uld not have been here.
There were also no efforts towards
cleanliness, be it rainwater logging
or toilets, they were all in a mess.”
Some of the exporters even raised
questions on the overseas buyers’
quality, as Harish Dua, MD, KG
Exports, Ludhiana and President,
Knitwear & Apparel Exporters
Organization, Ludhiana, lamented,
“It was our first ever participation
in this type of sourcing fair but I am
very much disheartened and will not
participate again in this event. There
were few buyers who were present
for visiting purpose only and not
for serious sourcing. I saw buyers
waiting almost for three hours at the
counter to get their reimbursement.
SHAHI EXPORTS, ORIENT CRAFT
DID PARTICIPATE
The show witnessed participation from top exporters
of India like Shahi Exports, Faridabad and Orient Craft,
Gurgaon. Both these companies have hardly ever
participated in any sourcing event, especially in India.
But they took part in this show to add on key buyers
which they hoped would visit the fair, but team of Shahi
Exports had a negative experience. Orient Craft displayed
kidswear, sweaters, womenswear and it is observing
more demand in schiffli embroidery and handwork in
the markets.
“None of the buyers we found here met our criteria as
we are dealing with a comparatively different kind of
clientele. So this fair was not for us, though we met few
vendors here who wanted to get associated with us.”
– Sachin Sureka, Marketing Manager, Shahi Exports
“As it is the biggest Indian fair organized by Ministry of
Textiles and was being inaugurated by the Prime Minister
himself, we thought of participating in it. We met few
importers and few brands of Belgium and Canada at this
fair. We already work for such buyers, so for us the fair was
reasonably good.” – Vijay Jaiswal, DMM, Orient Craft,
Gurgaon
At some booths, rainwater was seeping through the roof,
and exhibitors used dustbins for the same
I spoke to some buyers and tried to
know about their order quantities,
business etc., but they were unable
to tell even these basic things.” Thus,
he believed that it did not have any
of the traits of an international fair.
The company displayed Tees at
Textiles India and is continuously
expanding its production capacity.
Aastha Kapoor, Creative Director,
Affordable Exports, Delhi,
discussed her perspective on the
event, “The show was crappy, there
was no sanitation; some people from
the general public even vomited
DISHEARTENED BUYERS
“Why this show was shifted
from Delhi to here? We
had such a headache
here. I will not come to
this show anymore and
will discourage everyone
from doing the same.
It is so inconvenient; I
wasted full two hours in
the morning to reach the
place of fair. Last night, we
were not able to find any
conveyance to take us to hotel. Do you bring people from
overseas to show this side of India? – Krishna Chowdary,
KBM International Fashions, US
“Overall mismanagement
and delays created major
issues. Registration
process needs to be
improved by focusing on
less bureaucracy and less
paperwork. Organizers
should learn from Hong
Kong Fashion Week
about efficient event
management.
Hema Khandelwal (L) and Vivek Khandelwal (R) from Patterns India with
Richa Rawat, Manglam Arts (C)
– Kirit Rajani, Business Development, Be Global,
Porto, Portugal
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