The Hindu Business Line : One-stop shop for home décor products to open in November

INTERNATIONAL buying houses such as Li & Fung, IKEA Trading, Allianz, Linmark, Metro Group Buying and OTTO Agn International may no longer have to travel from State to State to source products for their home décor segment.

Be it home linen from Rajasthan, bamboo artefacts from the North-East, brassware from Moradabad or paper mache items from Kashmir, they will all be available under one roof, waiting for buyers to place export orders.

The country's first International Home Deco Park, a 3,50,000-square foot business complex, is being readied in Noida and is scheduled for an opening in November. Promoted by Mr Aditya Gupta and Mr Ashish Gupta of Sharda Exports, with an investment of about $ 20 million, it will serve as a common platform for multi-sourcing in the segment for international buyers and exporters.

The park is to be equipped with infrastructure such as communication facilities, a photography studio and a service centre for vital activities such as designing, packaging, labelling, forwarding and shipping.

Besides these business support facilities and others such as shuttle services to the airport and hotels, wireless Internet, café and restaurant, the park plans to house a global marketing department which will help exporters increase buyer footfalls in the home décor segment.

"We plan to house 50 to 60 top exporters with five to eight from each category at the park, so that buyers have an adequate choice in several price segments. The eight main categories on the agenda are carpets, furnishing, fixtures and fittings, textiles, handicrafts, glassware and tableware, bathroom and bath rugs and jute," said Mr Divya Prakash Ahuja, the park's Chief Operating Officer.

He said this is not just a venue to showcase products, but will work towards bringing in buyers who come to India regularly and find it cumbersome to visit different cities to source their requirements.

According to Mr Ahuja, on any given day, there are 30 to 50 buyers sourcing in the home décor segment from the country, which has seen an almost 30-per cent growth recently.

"We expect 70 to 80 buyers to visit the park every week and have had a very positive response to the project from overseas buyers. In short, we hope to play the catalyst role to the segment," he said.

At present, the home décor market with a size of Rs 3,500 crore, is highly unorganised. Apart from trade exhibitions, exporters use the online database and their personal contacts for getting business.

Buyers are also forced to scout around for sourcing products in particular categories. The home décor park will make it possible for buyers to explore different exporters, products and business opportunities throughout the year.

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