Seminar on Italian Design Day
The Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Radharani Marbles along with the Consulate General of Italy organised a seminar on Design Solutions for Marble and Stone in the cities of the Future, on the occasion of Italian Design Day. Present at the seminar was Pankaj Parekh, Chairman, IICCI-ER; Damiano Francovigh, Consul General, Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata; Pradeep Surekha, Member, IICCI-ER; Nandu Belani, President, CREDAI Bengal; Andrea Milani, Italian Architect; and Abin Chaudhuri, Indian Architect graced the occasion.
India imports every year an average of 7.4 billion in furniture design and building materials sector. Italy is the 4th exporter, after China, Germany and the US and India stands as the 10th extra EU market for Italian products. Indian buyers, even those who are price conscious, love Italian design and quality.
"There is a great potential for Italian companies in the Indian market. However, some critical points that narrow the presence of Italian brands and products in India are that the Indian buyers and intermediaries only want to interact with companies holding a stable reference in India and they are aware of the local market specifics and needs, thus promoting Italian designing way which will be a great exposure for the two countries," said Damiano Francovigh, Consul General, and Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata.
The duration and modes of converting a business opportunity into a contract can be long and exhausting; therefore the retail sector in India is still at a nascent stage, thereby having a very limited number of importers and distributors with a weak sales network.
"The amalgamation of Indo-Italian Centre and Furniture interiors design helps connecting and updating the target audience through social media. It also generates quotation requests through targeted promotions and others. This is a great opportunity to directly get in touch with Indian designers and architects that would refer the Italian company's products in their upcoming projects," said Nandu Belani, President, CREDAI Bengal.
"The seminar was a great platform in spreading the message and emphasise on the quality of their products, besides creating a promotional plan combining innovative and digital tools with traditional methods," said Pradeep Surekha, Member, IICCI-ER.
