Road Show – B2B meetings
Report by Mr. Ali Ahmed Khan, Executive Director, Council for Leather Exports
Background:
Spain is one of the important markets for Indian leather sector. Spain occupies 6th position in India’s export of leather & leather products. In India’s export, on year to year basis, a high growth is seen in export to Spain (14.15%) during 2007-08 over the previous year. Spain is also considered as very potential market for attracting FDIs, joint venture and technical collaborations into the Indian Leather Industry.The Council earlier organized a Road Show-B2B Meetings in Spain during May 2008 for giving an impetus to trade/investment cooperation between Indian and Spanish leather sectors. In that event held in Madrid, 20 Spanish companies participated whereas in the event held in Alicante, 40 Spanish companies held business meetings with the 16 Indian companies. The CLE Consultant in Spain International Venture Consultants (IVC) has coordinated that event. There was good turnout of Spanish companies as well as participants gave very positive feedback. Besides, meetings with the Spanish Associations and technological Institutes were also held by the Council. Considering the favourable response of the Spanish leather industry towards having more collaboration with Indian leather industry, it was considered appropriate to organize another Road Show – B2B Meetings in Spain during Nov 2008.
Road Show in Spain organized during Nov 24-26, 2008
In consultation with the CLE Consultant IVC appointed under the Intechmart Scheme, the most appropriate programme dates and clusters were finalized. Accordingly, the Road Show – B2B meetings was held during Nov 24-26, 2008. The clusters selected were Madrid and Elche. Elche is the most important leather cluster in Spain,
The objective of the Road Show was to present the Indian leather industry’s growth potential and investment opportunities available for Spanish investments into India, and also to give a platform for Indian and Spanish companies to hold business discussions over B2B meetings.
A total of 8 Indian companies from various regions participated in the B2B meetings with diverse product interests. They are: Excelsior Leathers P Ltd (Kolkata), Kay Kay Art Pvt Ltd (Mumbai), Lead Leathers (Erode), Deen Tanners (Chennai), GRN Export (Chennai), Superhouse Limited (Kanpur), Sunshine Tannery (Kanpur), & Habeeb Tanning Company (Chennai).
Shri R K Malik, Director, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion participated in the Road Show programmes, and held discussions with the Spanish entrepreneurs in regard to investment policies of the Govt. of India. Shri Jayant Kobragade, Counsellor–Commercial, Embassy of India, Spain has joined the programmes.
Event Promotional activities in Spain
The IVC has created a special website for the Event was created http://cle.ivc.es The programme details and profiles of Indian companies participating has been hosted, and Registration Form is part of the website.
Through the Consultant, the Council earlier undertook a massive publicity campaign to popularize the Event. The industry Associations such as FICE, ASOZAMA, AEC, ACOTEX, ASEFMA, ASEPAL etc have cooperated with the Consultant in the awareness campaign. Event Invitation was sent to almost 2700 manufacturers and about 2100 distributors in Spain. This was followed by Telephonic calls to about 900 manufacturers and 175 manufacturers.
| Contacted By | Number of Companies and Frequency |
| By email | Manufacturers: 2699 Four times |
| Distributors: 2112 Four times | |
| By phone (Contact Centre Madrid, Barcelona and Consultant Team) Overall: 319,5 hours | Manufacturers: 937 Three times |
| Distributors: 175 Three times | |
| By post mail | Manufacturers: 2564 once |
| Distributors: 638 once | |
| By phone top 100 | Top 100 Four times |
The Event details was also hosted in the websites of (i) Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries -FICE (2) Agencia EFE which is one of the most relevant news agency in Spain (3) ASOZAMA (Association of leather goods, shoes and components) which has 1100 member-companies.
The Council issued a Press Release dated Nov 20, 2008 in the Spanish media, with the title’ Realize India Potential – Indian Leather Industry seeks more collaborations with Spain’. This was circulated widely to audio-visual media personnel in the Spain.
Programme in Madrid, Nov 24, 2008
In the Road Show meeting held at 10.30am in the Hotal Foxa M30, the Council’s Executive Director Shri Ali Ahmed Khan made a presentation on the opportunity potential in the Indian leather industry. Besides explaining the status of the leather industry in India, the presentation highlighted the presence of quality manufacturing facilities, abundant availability of raw material, skilled labour at competitive wage levels etc. India’s growing domestic market for footwear and leather goods was also highlighted. Spanish companies were motivated to set up their factories (FDI or JVs) and produce products not only for export to third countries but also to cater to the huge domestic market of India.
Shri R K Malik, Director-DIPP in his speech invited Spanish entrepreneurs to invest in India. He spoke about the easy availability of industrial lands, conducive investment climate prevailing in India, attractive FDI policies put in place by the Government of India towards attracting FDIs and Joint Ventures from overseas companies etc.
Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE) participated in the event, and was represented by Commercial Director Javier Garcia Lillo.
After the presentation, question and answer session follows in which the clarifications are provided to the queries raised by the foreign entrepreneurs.
The CLE Consultant Mr. Mark Kavelaars, Managing Director of IVC, made a detailed presentation about ‘doing business in Spain’ and explained the Indian participants of the Spanish businessmen’s viewpoints and their expectations from any overseas trade partner.
In the B2B meetings held in Madrid, a total of 38 Spanish companies participated, and had business discussions with 8 Indian companies. As for sectoral interest of the Spanish participants, 34 companies were interested in Footwear, 32 companies in leather goods and 26 companies in Finished Leathers.
The Event in Madrid had a very good attendance of Spanish entrepreneurs. In fact, 4 Spanish companies out of the top 10 players in the Spanish Market participated in the Meetings.
- Induyco (Several companies of the biggest group in Spain)
- Sociedad Textil Lonia (Represented by Carolina Herrera Spain and Purificación Garcia)
- Joma Sport (Another of the biggest leather and shoes manufacturer)
- Fun & Basics (10th among the top ten, rich in retailing points)
The List of Top 10 companies in Madrid are given below:
| TOP 10 of Madrid | Turnover 2007 EURO | Attended |
|---|---|---|
| Induyco (El Corte Inglés) | 546,124,320 | Yes |
| Sociedad Textil Lonia (Carolina Herrera) | 173,015,597 | Yes |
| Joma Sport | 38,286,835 | Yes |
| Gant Lifestyle | 28,720,207 | No |
| Grupo Cortefiel | 24,274,000 | No |
| Fun & Basics | 13,205,220 | Yes |
| INSITU | 424,257 | Yes |
| El Corte Inglés División Comercial | - | Yes |
| Reprensentaciones Montesinos | - | No |
| Varela Imagen y Diseño | - | No |
Source: SABI
The event was able to attract big players in the Spanish market. It may be noted that the top 3 Spanish companies which participated in the B2B meetings had amongst themselves a total turnover value of almost €760 million in 2007. They are: (1) Induyco (2) Sociedad Textil Lonia (Carolina Herrera) (3) Joma Sport.
Programme in Elche Nov 26, 2008
The Road Show was held inElche on Nov 26, 2008 at Hotel Huerto del Cura. The presentation meeting was held in Elche in the same manner as that of Madrid. Important personalities who attended the presentation meeting from the Spanish side are;
- Mr. Jose Orts Pérez, President of AICE, Elche Leather and Shoes Industries Association
- Mr. Jose Juan Sanchís Busquier, President of FICCVAL, Valencia Leather & Shoes Industries Association
- Mr. Joaquín Marco, President of Villena Leather & Shoes Industry Association
B2B meetings took place wherein 65 Spanish companies attended the meetings. The Event had such an excellent participation, much more than registration – 58 were registered whereas 65 eventually participated. This is unprecedented.
3 out of the top 10 players in the Spanish market attended the meetings in Elche.
- Pikolinos Intercontinental SA (The most important player in Alicante, and 3rd in turnover in the Spanish Market)
- INCU SA, Industrias del Curtido, SA (One of the biggest tannery in Spain)
- Caster SA (Another very big Manufacturer of Fashion and Trendy Leather products, mainly shoes
The List of Top 10 companies in Elche are given below:
| TOP 10 of Elche | Turnover 2007 EURO | Assistance |
|---|---|---|
| Pikolinos Intercontinental SA | 62,054,636 | Yes |
| RB Dantes SA | 28,235,223 | No |
| INCUSA – Industriales Del Curtido SA | 26,162,000 | Yes |
| Caster SA | 19,498,790 | Yes |
| Picusa SA | 10,242,987 | Yes |
| J’HAYBER S.A. | 8,994,118 | Yes |
| AG Shoes SA | 4,431,225 | No |
| Sacha London | 3,102,102 | Yes |
| Nobuck SL | 2,576,038 | No |
| Pies Cuadrados Leather | 657,855 | Yes |
Source: SABI
Out of Top 10 companies in Elche, 7 companies indeed attended our Event. Amongst themselves, these 7 companies had a total turnover of €130 million in 2007. As for sectoral interest of the Spanish participants, 44 companies were interested in Footwear, 25 companies in leather goods and 23 companies in Finished Leathers.
Outcome of the Event in Madrid & Elche
Top 10 Companies of Spanish Leather Industry
| TOP 10 of Spain | Turnover 2007 EURO | Attended the Road Show |
|---|---|---|
| Induyco | 546,124,320 | Yes |
| Sociedad Textil Lonia | 173,015,597 | Yes |
| Pikolinos Intercontinental SA | 62,054,636 | Yes |
| Joma Sport | 38,286,835 | Yes |
| Gant Lifestyle | 28,720,207 | No |
| RB Dantes | 28,235,223 | No |
| INCUSA ? Industriales Del Curtido SA | 26,162,000 | Yes |
| Grupo Cortefiel | 24,274,000 | No |
| Caster SA | 19,498,790 | Yes |
| Fun & Basics | 13,205,220 | Yes |
Source: SABI
It is observed that 70% of the top 10 leather and leather goods companies in Spain registered for the Event has finally attended the B2B meetings.
Sectorial presence globally analysed both in Madrid and Elche
| Sector | Participants in Madrid | Participants in Elche |
|---|---|---|
| Footwear | 34 | 44 |
| Leather Goods | 32 | 25 |
| Finished Leather | 26 | 23 |
Source: IVC
Each sector has been weighted up on the total participants due to each company could have businesses in multiple products.
In regard to B2B meetings held, the following Table explains the Spanish interest related to India
| Field of Interest of Spanish Participants | Number of Spanish Participants | Rate on the Total |
|---|---|---|
| Import of finished products | 49 | 46 % |
| Market information India leather sector | 18 | 17 % |
| Sourcing | 16 | 15 % |
| Export of components | 15 | 14 % |
| Joint venture | 8 | 8 % |
Source: IVC
According to evaluation of Spanish companies, they have rated the quality of their individual meetings over 3.50, on a scale of 1 (average quality) to 5 (excellent quality).
The Council / IVC have observed the following:
- Positive reception for this Road Show event was one of the best results obtained ever on the India –Spain business Event in the leather sector.
- Main interest of the Spanish companies was on Footwear, followed by Leather Goods. The interest in footwear and leather goods is much more than the interest on finished leathers.
- Spanish companies would like to be informed of market information on the Indian Leather Sector, and therefore, the need is for the Council to organize few more Road Shows in Spain to create awareness of the Indian leather industry and present the market information.
- There were huge media support on the Event, in local television (Tele Elche), the Spanish press (Agencia EFE, Diario la Verdad).
- The Council could able to create a huge impact in Spain and adequate awareness was created on the Indian leather industry’s positive strengths and India as an attractive destination for investments, as an alternative to other overseas manufacturing destinations. Most importantly, the Road Show was able to generate considerable interest of Top Spanish companies in the leather sector, who are branded and high fashion design and premium products in their portfolio, considered as niche market.
Considering the enormous potential for further expanding the Indo-Spanish trade and investments in the leather sector, the CLE Consultant IVC has recommended to have another Road Show – B2B meeting Event during 2009-10 to retain lasting impressions on the Spanish leather industry. In fact, the Spanish Leather Associations are willing to offer the chance of organizing visit of the Indian Delegation to some of the factories in the clusters, so that the Indian companies could personally observe the production technologies and manufacturing process etc adopted by the Spanish entrepreneurs.