Report on CEPC’s Participation in

Hong Kong International Home Textiles and

Furnishing Fair

20th to 23rd April 2018

Carpet Export Promotion Council Setup by Ministry of Textiles (Govt of India)

Niryat Bhawan, 3rd Floor, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Opp. Army R & R Hospital, New Delhi-110057, INDIA

Tel.: +91 11 26153466, 26153467, Telefax: +91 11 26153465

Email: info@cepc.co.in, Website – www.cepc.co.in, www.indiancarpets.com

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CARPET EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL

REPORT ON HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL TEXTILES &

FURNISHING FAIR IN HONG KONG FROM 20-23 APRIL 2018.

The Carpet Export Promotion Council participated in the Ninth edition of Hong Kong Intl.

Textiles & Furnishing Fair held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 20-23 April

2018 where following nine registered member-exporters of this Council had showcased Hand-

made Woolen/Tufted Carpets, Rugs, Mats, Shaggy, Puffs, Durries and other Floor coverings. The

CEPC was allotted 120 sq.m. in Hall 3B. Council organized participation in the above Fair with the

financial assistance from the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) under MSS Scheme:

Name of the Participant

1. Chhabra Home Concept Pvt. Ltd., Panipat

2. Dheer exports, Jaipur

3. Navkar Home, Bikaner

4. Extra Weave, Panipat

5. Dream Collection, Panipat

6. Nirmal International, Panipat

7. Vishal Carpets, Bhadohit

8. Ravi Export Industries, Panipat

9. United Overseas, Panipat

10. Carpet Export Promotion Council

Mr. Pardeep Kumar Arora, Asst. Director of this Council was deputed by the Council to

Hong Kong to coordinate Council’s participation in the above fair and to assist the participants

during the fair. He provided various assistance to the participants during the fair and distributed

publicity materials to the visitors. He also collected feedback report from the participants.

Council’s participation in this fair not only helped us in branding Indian Carpet in Hong Kong but

also helped us to assess the market trend, consumer preference etc. of Indian Carpets and other

Floor coverings in Hong Kong. Participation in the above fair gave an opportunity to the small-

scale cottage-based exporters to showcase their new and innovative products before the potential

buyers.

Mr. Karun Bansal, Consul (Commerce, Political & Media) from Consulate General of India,

Hong Kong visited the stalls of the Indian Exhibitors in CEPC’s pavilion on the first day of the Fair

and interacted with all the Exhibitors. The Indian exhibitors expressed their views about the fair

to Mr. Bansal. A souvenir was presented to Mr. Karun Bansal by Sh Mahavir Pratap Sharma,

Chairman of this Council.

1. Chairman has also meet with organizers and Organizers has given assurance to invite

more potential Carpets & Floor coverings buyers in the next Fair.

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2. In order to attract more buyers for Indian Carpets & Floor coverings Organizer has given

the assurance to the Chairman that more publicity support will be provided in the next

fair.

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Brief About the Fair:

The 9th edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishing Fair

took place concurrently with the 33rd HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair during 20-23 April 2018

at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This is the largest annual fair for Textiles

and Furnishing fair organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in

association with China Guangdong Home Textile Association. The Hong Kong International Home

Textiles and Furnishing Fair was held in the total gross area of 3,446 sq.m in Hall No.3, the most

prominent hall of HKCEC. The fair provided worldwide suppliers and buyers a specific trade

platform for household and hotel textiles items such as furnishings, bedding products, curtains

and carpets from around the world.

Taking place under the same roof was the Hong Kong Houseware Fair, the leading

household sourcing platform in Asia, the natural synergy between the two fairs successfully drew

additional buyers to the Home Textiles Fair. The 2018 Home Textiles Fair was well

There were 9 Group pavilions present in 2018: Chinese Mainland, Jiangsu Nantong

(Chinese textile region), Taiwan, Rugs of India by CEPC, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts

& Handloom Export Promotion Council. The fair positions itself as a specialized platform for

sourcing textiles products with recent emphasis on green textiles and HORECA textiles supplies.

Labels of “green products”. Given the ongoing market demand of the home textile industry, the

Fair, as a professional trading platform will feature full range of home textiles including Carpet &

Floor coverings, upholstery & wall coverings, window fashion & accessories and other home textile

related products and design services. The fair offered exhibitors an unique platform to best

capture the business opportunity. Presenting traditional and crafted items from ASEAN countries,

BEST OF ASIAN features pavilions from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, each

presenting the best craftsmanship with modern touch from their own regions. Besides providing

a platform for the industry to source products and explore business opportunities,

Similar to the House ware Fair, the Home Textiles and Furnishings events have also

adopted the “Interior” theme to showcases a variety of home textiles, upholstery and furnishing

products. Featured products include Hong Kong exhibitor Nightingale’s gold embroidery trim on

black satin table linen, Indian hand block printed cushion covers and wool/denim Panja Rugs.

The Hall of Glamour was the premium zone of the fair, showcasing design-driven products

and designer collections with focus on bedding, curtains, carpets etc.

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Exhibitors:

There were 305 exhibitors from 9 countries and regions, including exhibitors from Chinese

Mainland, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, Belgium Indonesia & Pakistan showcased

various range of Home Textiles and Furnishing items under one roof, including group pavilions

from Bangladesh, the Chinese mainland, etc... Despite major textiles producers, the Chinese

mainland and India were well-represented at the fair, Jiangsu Nantong Pavilion, dubbed as “the

hometown of Textiles in the Chinese mainland”, has returned to showcase an extensive range of

home textiles, including bedding, linens and towels. The India Pavilion host three Textiles based

Councils i.e. Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, Handloom Export Promotion Council and

Carpet Export Promotion Council.

There were total 149 Indian participants in the Hong Kong International Home Textiles

and Furnishing Fair as per break up given below India was the largest Exhibiting Country in this

fair. Japanese brand Interform participated in the House ware Fair as part of its strategy to restart

its export business:

EPCH : 82

HEPC : 20

CEPC : 9

Direct : 38

Total : 149

Visitors:

There were 19185 visitors from 103 countries & regions (Hong Kong, Asia, Europe, North

America, Latin America, Australia & Pacific Islands, Middle East & Africa) visited the Hong Kong

Intl. Home Textiles and Furnishing Fair. The two Fairs welcomed a total of more than 49,000

buyers from 113 countries and regions, up approximately 2 percent over last year. More than

29,000 buyers visited the Houseware Fair while close to 49,000 buyers attended the Home

Textiles and Furnishings Fair. Attendance among mature markets such as Australia and Korea, as

well as emerging markets including the Chinese mainland, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia and the

Philippines saw double-digit percentage growth. Buyer response was very positive. Eager buyers

learn more about different houseware and home textiles products. To enrich buyer’s experience

during the fairs the HKTDC organized a series of seminars including trend seminars, buyer forums

and product parades.

HKTDC commissioned an independent on-site survey Interviewing more than 560 buyers

and exhibitors, the survey found that the industry is cautiously optimistic about market prospects,

with 36 per cent of the respondents expecting overall sales to grow and 51 per cent expecting

sales to remain steady. More than 40 per cent of respondents said the major challenges facing

the industry in 2018 are increased operating costs (42 per cent) and price fluctuations of raw

materials (40 per cent).

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Buying Missions, Business Matching services:

HKTDC organized 128 overseas buying missions comprising more than 7,100 buyers to

help exhibitors to tap into more markets. Buyers from the ASEAN markets considered promising

by the respondents such as Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore participated in the buying

missions, creating more business opportunities for the industry.

Publicity:

Hanging Banners on Rugs of India by CEPC were displayed inside Hall 3B. The above

publicity facilitated visitors to aware about quality of Indian carpets manufactured in India.

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Hong Kong Economic Policy:

Hong Kong is one of the two special regions to the people’s Republic of China, other being

Macau, Following British rule from 842 to 1997 China assumed, sovereignty under one country;

two systems principles. It is situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta

and South China Sea. It is known for its expensive skyline and deep natural harbor. Hong Kong

is one of the most densely populated country in the world having a population of 7.173 million

people with a land mine of 1,104 km 2. Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading international

financial centers, its service-oriented economy is characterized by low taxation near free port

trade and well established international financial market. Hong Kong has remained world’s freest

economy. The economy governed under positive non-interventionism, is highly dependent on

international trade and finance. Hong Kong is having a sound impact on the overall economic

performance by removing barriers for the private enterprises in the special administrative region.

…

Market Segments:

Hong Kong was considered to be among the three most promising traditional markets

along with North America and Western Europe; while the Chinese mainland was regarded as the

emerging market with the strongest growth prospects. Hong Kong is a new upcoming market

for Indian Handmade Carpets & other Floor coverings. India is one of the leading textile exporters

in the world. This edition of the Home Textiles and furnishings Fair featured quality textiles from

a number of Indian textiles organizations, which received a lot of attention from buyers.

Due to worldwide economic recession and unfavorable external economic conditions the

market was comparatively slow but there was demand of Hand tufted Carpets, Rugs, Bath Mats,

Durries, Cushion cover, Puffs etc. Low and Medium range carpets of modern design were also in

great demand in Hong Kong. There is tremendous scope for further expansion of exports of

Indian Carpets & other Floor coverings in Hong Kong

Export trend:

Exports of Indian Handmade Woolen Carpets and other Floor coverings in Hong Kong

during 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18 were as under:

(Value in Rupees Crores)

Country 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18

Hong Kong 21.15 13.61 9.29

Exports of Carpets & other Floor coverings during 2015-16 registered an upward trend

during 2015-16 but due to worldwide economic recession the exports during 2016-17 & 2017-18

registered downward trend, which needs to be enhanced for 2018-19 by participating in the above

fair.

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Business Segments:

Though due to overall economic recession the visit of the buyer in the Fair was slow but

Indian participants generated business and received enquiries as per details given below:

Business Generated : Rs.115.70 Lakhs

Under Negotiation : Rs 118.30 Lakhs

No. of Enquiry received : 54

No of Visitors visited : 139

Besides generating business and enquiries most of the participants sold their goods during the

fair.

Suggestion/Recommendation:

1. Organizers should invite more potential Carpets & Floor coverings buyer in the next Fair.

2. In order to attract more buyers for Indian Carpets & Floor coverings more publicity support

from the Organizers is required in the next fair.

3. Regular participation in this Fair is required to arrest the exports declined during 2016-17

& 2017-.18

4. Thematic projection and proper branding of Indian Carpets is required to be undertaken

in Hong Kong.

Looking Ahead:

The 10th edition of the Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishing Fair will

be held on 20-23 April 2019 concurrently with the HKTDC Hong Kong House ware Fair. Co-located

with the largest event of its kind in Asia, it will absolutely bring along additional audiences who

are looking for natural synergies between house ware and home textiles industry.