17% rise in visitors at Heimtextil & Ambiente

The very successful third edition of India’s leading home fashion business platforms – Heimtextil India and Ambiente India set new visitor records attracting 8,443 business visitors from across the Indian subcontinent, a 17 per cent increase from last year. The well-timed opening during the Indian buying season and on the day India’s cabinet approved a package of measures to boost the textiles sector led to intense business discussions and an optimistic outlook among the fraternity.

Exceeding expectations with a stunning display of the 2016 home fashion collections by 165 companies from seven countries and some of the Industry’s most revered brands, the three-day co-located fairs marked the beginning of pre-festive business for trade agents, retailers, architects, interior designers, hospitality purchase managers and design experts.

Renowned home décor brand and the world’s largest producer of upholstery and curtain fabrics, D’Décor for the first time launched their 2016 collection tailored for the Indian market as opposed to its signature European styles. The company also announced its ‘digital initiative’ at Heimtextil India which is said to make the decor experience limitless. Ajay Arora, MD, D’Décor said: “While our products capture all the needs of the Indian consumers with the best of craftsmanship, imagination and innovation, this year we have invested in a giant leap that will change the ways consumers shop for home décor. It will change the way people do Home Décor and the way retailers do business. This is what we have tried to show here and the response has been phenomenal.”

From the 2016 Autumn-Winter collection by Raymonds to a first-of-its-kind memory fibre for soft feel products by Reliance to advanced digital textile printers by Colorjet, Heimtextil India raised the curtains on the very latest in home furnishings and textiles. Next door, Ambiente India saw the launch of Brand Triston Home by Zakaria Shahid Industries, Nilkamal’s new outdoor collection and the abstract wall décor collection by Vedas. From the biggest brands like Ceramic Tableware, Kai Corporation to start-ups like iShippo.com, Living with Elan, Devnow etc., Ambiente India housed the most creative home ware and interior decor segments attracting buyers from across the country. Welcoming the high turnout of serious business visitors at their stalls, exhibitors shared that they expected strong business in the coming months. Satyam Lamba, Manager, Raymond, said: “Heimtextil India and Ambiente India provide a direct connection to wholesale and retail clientele. The launch of our 2016 Autumn-Winter collection has received a tremendous response and we started receiving orders from day one of the show itself. We will certainly be back next year in a big way.”

Voicing similar views, Ambiente India exhibitor Palash Agarwal, Proprietor, Vedas Exports said: “Heimtextil India and Ambiente India fairs, being centrally located, not only attract good numbers but also provide quality visitors. The launch of our abstract wall décor collection received very good response. We have had serious buyers from different parts of the country who have closed deals with us. We have already recovered our investments made on the show before its close and are very eager to come back for the next edition.”

Standing true to the repute of its parent brands Heimtextil and Ambiente, the co-located fairs in India provided quality contacts for those looking to tap the domestic market. Bibhor Sethi, Commercial Manager, Hitaishi-KK said: “We have been associated with Ambiente for the past 20 years and when we decided to hit the domestic market, we knew this was ‘the platform. The response has been great on all three days and the quality has been even better than last year. We’ve got quite a few orders, inquiries and a whole lot of new contacts. We are sure to be back again with a bigger stand!

Hospitality Day draws target buyers

Differentiating itself from its previous editions to add further value to exhibitors‘ participation, Heimtextil India and Ambiente India joined hands with the Hospitality Purchase Manager’s Forum (HPMF) whose members visited the show over the three days. The exclusive ‘Hospitality Day’ on June 23 saw a series of business-centric workshops and buyer-seller meets which was widely appreciated by the exhibitors.

Sole producer of blackout fabrics in India, Alps Industries Ltd launched its new three pass blackout range at the show and was also happy with the buyer-seller meets with Hospitality influencers. Amitabh Sen, Business Head, Alps Industries Ltd, said: “Last year we were at Heimtextil India with a clear goal of entering the domestic market. The contacts at the show really helped us create this standing and visibility among domestic buyers. This year, the show seems to be even better and we have developed a good contact base for business with the buyer-seller meets. For international players, it is a truly great platform and we want to see it grow further. We will, as always, extend our full support.”

Looking to source products for their expansion plans, Amit Aggarwal, Materials Manager, Radisson Blu Hotel, said: “My main interest was to meet new vendors for textile and linen products who can extend their supplies for our upcoming project. I have carefully chosen a few vendors who I would like to sign up with. I also found an interesting exhibitor for our tassels requirement. Heimtextil India and Ambiente India will certainly benefit our industry, especially in the project planning stage, as we are very particular about quality and we have a whole range of competitive products here.”

Nitin Nagrale, Founder, HPMF, said: “The experience at Heimtextil India and Ambiente India has been wonderful. These are very well-organised shows that add value to the business of hospitality with high-quality displays and brands. It makes our job easy and we can get straight to talking business. I had discussions and was very happy to learn that many of our members have already identified their potential vendors. Hospitality Day has definitely been a success!”

An inspiring feature added at the show was ‘The special skills zone’ where a group of differently-abled people were seen giving a live demonstration of their special skills acquired through Messe Frankfurt’s training programme. The beautiful display of hand-work products in embroidery, tie-dye, candle making, stitching attracted many inquiries and orders for future tie-ups from visitors and VIPs who visited the fair.

Interior Lifestyle Award

One of the central attractions at the show, the Experience Zone with its four themes: metamorphosis, serendipity, genesis and quintessential made waves among interior designers and architects. Attracting more than 500 applications from aspiring designers under the home textiles and home decor categories, the award was sweeped away by three talented female designers – Riddhi Jain, Akriti Kumar and Nayanika Bhatla who will represent India at Heimtextil and Ambiente in Frankfurt next year.

Sunil Sethi, President, Fashion Design Council of India, said: “The talent pool in India can give competition to anyone else in the world and the exposure through the Interior Lifestyle Award is required to push this creative boundary and identify design leaders. Moreover, the ILA Experience Zone is not just about art. It holds strong commercial value. Seeing the results displayed here, I am confident that these young winners can best represent India’s design potential at the world’s biggest fairs.”

The commercial value of these concepts was also acknowledged by Rashi Poptani, Interior Designer & Director, Ramsons, said: I‘m looking at buying products for my store as well as some new concepts that can be integrated in my upcoming projects from Heimtextil India and Ambiente India. The platform has a very personalised and focused approach for those in the interior business and is a great place to source new products and ideas, especially with concepts displayed at the Experience Zone.”

Highly impressed with the show, Ruchi Kohli, Head – North India Business, Amazon who was visiting the show with her procurement team said: “Ambiente India and Heimtextil India have been great for our e-tail planning. There are a lot of great products for visual merchandising in Home Décor and the Experience Zone provided good exposure of new concepts that we would be keen to tie-up for. One amazing thing about this platform is that it helps discern regular, multi-channel and exclusive brands and we certainly will close deals with some of these.”

With business activity soaring and booking confirmations for the next edition starting during the show itself, the organiser has confirmed that Ambiente India & Heimtextil India will be bigger, better and busier with new additions in 2017. Dates will be announced soon.