E-Paper
The business of fashion
Glamour aside, fashion designers are looking forward to doing some serious business with potential buyers from India and abroad at the forthcoming Lakme India Fashion Week 2005.
Glamour aside, fashion designers are looking forward to doing some serious business with potential buyers from India and abroad at the forthcoming Lakme India Fashion Week 2005.
With over 60 international buyers from 12 countries, along with 90 domestic buyers, this year's Lakme India Fashion Week is all set to become the biggest-ever business platform in the country. According to the FDCI, it has received confirmation from Saks Fifth Avenue, New York and Selfridges, London and is awaiting confirmation from a few other prestigious stores like Harrods from London, besides Barneys, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman from New York.
Buyers are expected from the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Japan and West Asia. They include Okra (USA), Boho (London), RCKC (London), FAE The Fashion House (Dubai), Ananda (Spain), Sanskrit (Hong Kong), Saaya (Japan), Chokri (Singapore), Talisman (Turkey), Jofima LDA (Portugal), Moda In (Kuwait) and Kiki (London).
Some of the domestic buyers participating in the mega event are Kimaya, Be, Elan Couture Pvt. Ltd., Ogaan, Ensemble, Shoppers Stop Ltd., Fuel, Kala Niketan, Sosa's, Ffolio, Elahe, Zenon, Evoluzione, Pantaloon, M & S House of Design, among others.
LIFW facilitates designers and buyers' interactions on a common podium. It saves the time and energy our designers spend in going around seeking appointments with potential buyers, especially those from foreign lands. Keeping this in mind fashion designers make use of this opportunity to convert their meetings with buyers into business. In or der to make this happen, they should be provided with as much information per taining to their creations as they like: Look books, line sheets, manned stalls with trained staff, garments with style numbers and price tags, besides, of course, high-quality garments.
There have been instances in the past where designer stalls were manned only by people who were not trained enough to handle a buyer who walked in looking for in formation pertaining to the collection on display. Ideally, designers themselves should be present at these stalls to handle potential buyers. There are some designers who come to their stalls only to meet buyers after making prior appointments with them. In this case, they should always have educated staff with relevant information to handle walk-in buyers.
At the stall all garments should have tags with prices and style numbers. Over the past five years, designers have started doing this but some designers also felt that pricing differs with different buyers depending on the number of orders placed. If that is the case, the base price should be on the tag. Also important is the availability of brochures and other material on the collection with the staff.
Plagiarism has always worried Indian designers. According to FDCI's executive director Rathi Vinay Jha, the foreign buyers were decided with extra caution. The buyers' profile can always authenticate whether they are genuine or not. And, if everything is in place, there is no reason why LIFW, which is India's biggest B2B fashion event, shouldn't be a success in terms of the business it is supposed to generate.
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
PRICE TAGS: It is essential to have tags on the clothes displayed at the stall. Even more critical is the right display of the price.
STYLE NUMBERS: Style numbers on the tag can help a buyer make his purchase decision.
EDUCATED STAFF: The people manning the designer's stall should be trained to handle walk-in buyers. They should be able to explain the nuances of the garment to the buyer clearly.
LOOKBOOKS: The Lookbook should explain the collection to the buyer with details on the concept, colour scheme, fabric, silhouette etc.
TIME IS MONEY: The stall should open and close at the stipulated timings. Many foreign buyers, particularly from Europe, are sticklers for time.
