A leading UK architect who visited the IAAPI trade show in Delhi this year (January 29-31), has commented on the show and how it fits into the growing Indian shopping and retail scene.
Ray Hole, managing director of Ray Hole Architects from London, said: “From my observations, IAAPI is going through the usual initial stages of establishing a trade show that reflects the full and rounded market place within Indian and the associated region. This tends to be asymmetric initially with certain sectors, operators and suppliers creating a sense of dominance.
“The EAS [European Amusement Show, held in Berlin last year] was similar in this, but now portrays a wide and varied representation of the whole industry. The market equally is potentially large but the country is also large - so getting everyone in one place is always difficult. Therefore I think the show needs to try and get a broader representation.
“Furthermore, the attractiveness of any show must be the numbers of clients/buyers. This will be different in every sector and depending where a company is in the ‘food chain’. I cannot comment on this as I was only a visitor. What is important in getting more stands taken is the confidence that clients/buyers will attend.
“This statistic is enhanced by a quality programme of talks and presentations which will attract this higher tier of management/decision maker. Next year the exhibition will need to show a progression in scale, complexion (delegates and stands) and talks.”
