“An awesome experience !” “It’s great to see the range of products we have to play with, as interior architects and designers!” “This is India’s salone!” These are some of the comments of visitors to the recently concluded Index Fairs, Mumbai, India.

The 4-day event saw about 25,000 trade buyers and professional specifiers from the architect, interior designer and builder communities, who came in to the show from across the nation. The already powerful visitor profile was boosted by the official partnership with the Hospitality Procurement Managers Forum (HPMF) and the Institute of Indian Interior Designers, the architect fraternity that is responsible for interior fit-outs of the sprawling project spaces of the country. Industry specific events such as Voice of Procurement and Cooking Up a Storm for the hospitality and kitchen industries, by ‘Index Events’, were a value addition to the visitors and exhibitors present.

Over 300 booths were spread across 7 air-conditioned hangars (300000 sq. ft.), which were fitted out in resonance with the design-led event. The 26-year-old fair covers the gamut of interiors products with focused spaces for furniture, decorative lighting and artifacts; kitchen; office & contract; intermediates, wall and floor products and architectural hardware.

Focused initiatives to bring in the best possible visitor profile to the powerful event saw exhibitors expressing their appreciation of the b2b matchmaking exercise that brought in over 2700 trade and business visitors from across the country. Strategic partnerships with India’s leading airlines and hotels brought the fair up to a new level of professionalism and success.

The design-led Index Fairs saw key spaces with a design focus, the Index Design Boulevard, with lighting design installations, “A Little Light Magic”, the Kudos Gallery on great contributions to hospitality design and the Art Enclave and Sculpture Zone which were new at Index this year.

Despite the chaotic nature of the Indian markets, the sheer volumes of business are awe-inspiring and a magnet to export-driven suppliers across the world. Index Fairs is well known as the best entry point into the Indian markets and has helped launch leading brands from over 20 nations including Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain, France, Malaysia, Singapore and China, into the attractive Indian markets.

India imported approx. 70 billion INR worth of furniture, bedding, mattress & stuffed furnishings and decorative lamps & lighting fittings in the fiscal 2013-14. [USD 1.2 billion], with a YOY growth in INR of 14.87 % [DGFT figures]. The lack of a strong domestic base of manufacture underscores the potential for imported goods despite the 29% customs tariffs.