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Messe Frankfurt unveils plans for Beauty World India

Boby Kurian

BANGALORE, July 3

MESSE Frankfurt, leading trade fair organisers with over 800 years of history in the business, will organise Beauty World India, aimed to perk up the cosmetic industry.

The fair, planned for next year, will cater to the product groups of cosmetics, perfumery, beauty accessories as well as health and fitness equipment. The date and venue of the fair has not yet been finalised.

Messe Frankfurt plans to chart a new course with Beauty World India. Hitherto, the company's core competency lay in three businesses -- automobiles, textiles and consumer goods -- and in organising trade fairs for the same.

``We feel that the Indian cosmetic industry shows great promise, considering the fact that global cosmetic manufacturers recognise India as one of the markets showing most potential for growth. Added to that, our current spates of Miss Indias are bringin g fame and claim to beauty as a business,'' Ms. Shammi Nagpal, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd, told Business Line.

However, Messe Frankfurt refused to divulge any further information in this regard, including details on how big the fair will be and the estimated current annual turnover of the Indian cosmetic business. ``The fair is still in the pipeline. We will divu lge the relevant figures once we finalise it and begin promotions,'' a company spokesperson said.

Messe Frankfurt's branded international trade fairs are Ambiente, a consumer goods fair dating back to almost eight centuries; Heimtextil, providing the trends for the world's textile industry for the last 30 years and Automechanika, the international tr ade fair for car auto spare parts and accessories. Messe Frankfurt, in 1998, began organising the European Banking Trade Fair (EBTF) to showcase software and hardware solutions for the banking and financial community in Europe.

Messe Frankfurt opened a representative office in India 10 years ago, and has since consolidated its position among various domestic industries as their global marketing partner. The company now takes credit for popularising international trade fairs amo ng Indian manufacturers and points out that around 1,500 domestic manufacturers participate in more than 35 events worldwide.

``We were instrumental in selecting high quality products and instilling a sense of pride among Indian companies to display the `Made in India' label,'' Ms. Nagpal said.

The company set up 100 per cent subsidiaries in New Delhi and Mumbai in 1998, citing an emerging trend towards high quality, professionally managed trade fairs in the country. ``The aim was to strengthen our activities and bring our branded fairs to Indi a, in addition to the existing business of offering global platforms to Indian industry,'' Ms. Nagpal said.

``Already, Automechanika 1999, Heimtextil Tex-Styles India 2000, Ambiente India 2000 and Bank Technology India have received good response. We are satisfied with our projects and believe that it may take a little time and investment to educate Indian man ufacturers on the trade fair business,'' Ms. Nagpal added.