Sports Goods & Physical Fitness Equipment Exhibition - 2008
Sports goods: Biz in making
Thomex.com
Abhinav Bindra winning a gold medal in 2008 Beijing Olympic has had many effects. If one wants to phrase it more succinctly it could very well be called Bindra Effect as it has infused fresh lease of life in Indian sports enthusiasts. The result - more and more youths have taken to sports as a serious vocation and are pursuing it more vigorously. This was more than evident during the 2008 Sports Goods & Physical Fitness Equipment Exhibition organised at Pragati Maidan from October 3-6, where a good number of youth were seen scouting through various sports equipments and sundry accessories. Organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and supported by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Authority of India, the tradeshow catered to manufacturers and suppliers of sports goods & physical fitness equipment, sport persons, educational & health institutes, health clubs and associations. The exhibition also explored the tremendous potential that India has a manufacturing hub for world class sports goods and fitness equipments, keeping in view the availability of good quality raw-material and technical know-how. The timing of the show was also significant as it acted as a precursor to India hosting the prestigious Commonwealth Games in 2010. It is worth mentioning that India, in recent years, has emerged as a principal supplier of sports goods to the international market. The export of Indian sports goods has grown from Rs 3,120 million in 2002-2003 to Rs 5,192 million in 2007-2008, showing a steady growth of 12 per cent annually. India also exports 60% of its total domestic output to countries like UK, Australia, USA, South Africa, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and others. The major export goods that are exported include inflatable balls, protective equipments for cricket, cricket bats, boxing equipment, hockey sticks, fishing equipments, bladders and others. Speaking about the show, Maggo of ITPO who has been overseeing the exhibition said that the show had more than 29 exhibitors from different parts of the country including Jalandhar, Meerut, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. "The show was organised over more than 600 sq m area of the premium venue and was visited by more than 600 serious visitors each day," he said. "Although the show was well attended, we feel there is a huge area of improvement. We would have received much better response had the show not been discontinued during its 2nd edition last year. We hope to make it up during the next show," averred Maggo who thinks Indian sports goods and equipments are fast emerging as a hot saleable commodity in the international market. The exhibition which was attended by a good number of fitness companies received a fairly good response from various quarters. GP Singh of Healthline however, was of the opinion that the show could have been better promoted by the organiser. "We received a steady flow of visitors on Sunday but on the remaining days the response was very lukewarm. The organiser should have promoted the event well. There was little awareness about the show and very few people knew about it," said Singh who is a supplier of various fitness equipments. According to Singh there was little advertising done on the show. "The only advertisement that appeared was on Doordarshan and that too on 11.00 pm slot, which is not watched by many people''. The show was nonetheless visited by government officials and security agencies where sports and fitness find a special place. "The demand of fitness equipments is largely depended on the purpose for which it is used and the age-group of people using it. By that standard, the equipments are a hot favourite among young people," Singh said. Ajay Verma of TI Cycles, who had put on display sports cycles, said that the show was a complete negation as it could not generate the required industry audience. "The absence of major fitness companies like Proline, Nike, Reebok, Cosco, Nagpal Sports, and Grand Slam were very conspicuous. All the major companies were missing," Verma said. He was of the opinion that the recent bomb blasts in Delhi might have created a fear-psychosis among people who have shunned visiting exhibitions. Manoj Govardhan of Decathlon was among the exhibitor who was pleased with the response he received from the people and serious visitors alike. "We received about 400 visitors each day. This is despite the fact that we participated in this show for the first time," Manoj said. Sandeep Raj Bhola of Desan International, who is into making jogging tracks and playground equipments, was happy with the response he received at the show. "We received almost 50 enquiries each day which we never expected. Out of these, many are hot enquiries which we are sure, we will be able to convert into real business," Sandeep said. Sandeep was of the view that dealers and distributors who came to the show added another dimension of real business to the exhibitors who had come from various parts of the country to participate in the show. |
