Don't have a store? Participate in exhibitions

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Natalia Ningthoujam | 19 Jul, 2013
A glitzy store in a posh area is what many aspire for, but few achieve. Fret not! Apart from social media, exhibitions are seen as a potent platform to promote products and services.

From weddings to lifestyle, exhibitions on various themes are being organised in metros as well as tier-II and tier-III cities and participants feel this gives them a chance to promote their products and find buyers.

Take for instance Parul Sharma. She designs suits, saris and kurtis which cost between Rs.400 and Rs.8,200 but doesn't have a store of her own.

"Exhibitions help to meet new clients, which is why I participate in them. Apart from Katyayeni - A Grand Luxury Lifestyle Exhibition, I exhibited my work in November 2012 at one of the exhibitions held in Ghaziabad," Sharma, who operates from her home in Vaishali, Ghaziabad, told IANS.

Celebrating Vivaha is one of the exhibitions that travels to different cities and is currently in Ludhiana.

"We started 11 years back. Since time is a constraint for most of us, we want everything under one roof so we saw the need for this exhibition. After doing successful shows in Delhi and Mumbai, we moved to other cities like Ludhiana, Raipur, Indore and Hyderabad as well. People of these cities have a lot of money but no exposure to the products in our exhibitions. By the end of this year, we will organise an exhibition in Lucknow too," said Ratika Seth, marketing head of Vivaha.

Among other exhibitions are Rutbaa, Bride & Groom Exhibition and Runway Rising.

Shuchi Chawla, founder of Eleganti fashion accessories, said exhibitions improve business prospects.

"Our fashion accessories are sourced from Korea. We sell on eBay as well, but we received better response during exhibitions held at Saket (in New Delhi and Kingdom of Dreams (in Gurgaon)," Chawla said.

Apart from apparel and jewellery, there is room for other items as well.

For instance, Raj Jain sources bedsheets, bedcovers and suits from Kolkata and says these sell like hot cakes at exhibitions.

Geeta Gupta, founder of Future Oracle, says her stall is full of vastu-related products that help to give positive energy.

"I've been in the business for seven years; so I've participated in several exhibitions and will continue to do so," she said.

Apart from getting new clients, exhibitions also prevent the stealing of a designer's creativity.

Pooja Patwari, founder of Rustle, specialises in Shibori, tie and dye technique of Japan. She avoids uploading images of her creations, images on social-networking sites, as people tend to copy designs.

"I never share images of my work as I've heard others steal your idea. Exhibitions are better. Sometimes I even set up an exhibition at home. My friends help to spread the word," she said.

Participants can also take inspiration from such luxury exhibitions and start their own venture.

Arti Kathuria, founder of Kalypso Enterprises that specialises in western wear, is into just that.

"I am tying up with diamond jewellery brand Arnav jewels and Meeta Khandelwal, who designs Indian wear. We are planning to organise six exhibitions in a year from this year onwards," Kathuria said.

Like Kathuria, three women from different professions got together and started their own exhibition in 2012. Pratishtha Gala, who is an online advertising person, joined hands with Kshipra Jain, a college executive, and Digisha Shah, an independent consultant.

"We three are passionate about shopping; so we started Fiesta Expositions. Other than offering stalls dedicated to clothes, accessories, jewellery and décor products, we even gave basic spa services at the venue," said Shah.

However, survival is not easy and one of the tricks of the trade is to ensure novelty at such events.

"When we hold exhibitions, we make sure we don't take exhibitors from same city as people are already aware of them. We bring in participants from different cities to attract people," said Vivaha's Seth.