India Flaunts Its Flair for Furniture Making

New Delhi—Buyer Antony Guss called the debut of Indian Furniture & Accessories Show 2006 at the India Expo Mart a good start.

"India, with its IT expertise and booming economy, will be a tradeshow powerhouse," predicted Guss, general manager of Melbourne, Australia-based Casualife All Weather Furniture.

But not quite yet.

"It was a dud of a show," he added.

Guss was one of more than 100 international buyers brought to the March 10–13 show as part of a trade mission.

Organized by India's Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, under the aegis of the Indian Ministry of Textiles, the new show was intended to introduce the world to the Indian furniture industry. Both the ministry and private show managers organize other Indian furniture shows, but until recently, they have been geared to the domestic market.

The new show offered about 400 exhibitors in two of the center's four exhibit halls, which have a capacity of 17,650 square meters, or about 190,000 square feet. The modern but utilitarian India Expo Mart, which opened last year, is about a 30-minute drive from New Delhi.

Because "Indian furniture is better made than elsewhere," Guss said, he saw potential for the government-run event.

For better or worse, it's buyers like Guss that the Indian government is banking on. Most exhibitors and buyers saw the debut as a promising beginning and said there was much to like. With exports increasing, the Indian furniture industry, like the IT and call center industries, is creating sorely needed jobs.

Navratan Samdria, India Expo Mart chairman, said he and others hope the event will usher in a new era, moving Indian furniture from cottage-industry status to an increased share of export to the world market.

S2 Resources and its president, Dallas- and Delhi-based exporter Arun Agarwal, brought in the foreign buyers, mostly from the United States, but also from South America, Australia, Europe and Canada.

Although some of the show's exhibitors have participated in High Point, N.C.'s Intl. Home Furnishings Market and the semiannual Las Vegas Market at the World Market Center, many of the furniture makers have been unable to exhibit outside of India.

"People are placing orders at the show. India has a lot to offer the world," said Barbara Mowat, president of Impact Communications of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mowat, who helped organize the Canadian delegation, said she believed the Indian furniture industry would eventually be competitive with the Chinese furniture industry, for instance.

"China has cornered the world's marketplace for most of the furniture, but what I have heard is that they mainly use pressed board, covered with veneer," she said. "In India, it was solid wood and more craftsmanship, but in many cases more expensive, so one has to weigh the pros and cons."

She said India is still behind when it comes to mass manufacturing, but that should change. "All it will take are some serious big buyers to set up plants, similar to what has occurred in China over the past 10 to 15 years," Mowat said.

Most booths at the shows were hardwall, with little or none of the elaborate decorations common to many American tradeshows. A few were stylish, and some were large to accommodate the furniture displays.

Exhibitors said there are few restrictions on Indian exhibitors when it comes to move-in and move-out. They can carry in, set up, dismantle and move booths out if they wish, or hire contractors for the job.

Tellingly, all the exhibitors TSW spoke to had done the work themselves. Exhibitor Vijender Kumar, a merchandiser for the Aggressive Intl. Marketing Project for India's northeastern region, even pointed out the raised platform he built himself in his exhibit space.

Achal Gupta of furniture exporter Heritage, said he hopes to begin exhibiting in U.S. furniture shows within the next two to three years. Neither Gupta nor any of the other exhibitors TSW spoke with reported any of the trouble getting visas that other foreign exhibitors have reportedly experienced.

Christopher Mahl, a furniture retailer from Cologne, Germany, said that although most of the foreign buyers at the show had taken advantage of the Indian government's largesse to visit (typically accepting free airfare and hotel accommodations), later on they would be willing to pay their own way.

"The Indian furniture industry is very viable," Mahl said. "Indian manufacturers keep their promises, and they ship quickly."

However, buyer Randy Ophaug, of California-based Global Home, said he was already familiar with many of the vendors, primarily because they also exhibit at the World Market Center.

Still, he said, "I will do business here. I'm quitting the Thai furniture industry to concentrate on India. The Indians are honest, decent people, and their products are cost effective."