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Home Furnishings in India : How to Find an Exporter,manufacturer or Supplier ? Beyond a Database.
Looking for a manufacturer or supplier of home furnishings in India ? Don't know where to begin? Want to find a source but at a loss for resources? Want to do business in India, but unsure what is the best way to go about it? This article attempts to answer some of these questions. Firstly,unless you have a link in India, you will find it a difficult task to sift through the information available on the Internet. There are various sites that provide a directory of manufacturers and exporters in India. These sites have a database of exporters, manufacturers, suppliers and agents dealing in home furnishings. Not exhaustive and certainly not comprehensive, but it's a good place to start. One disadvantage is going through all the databases. Largely, in the directories of manufacturers and exporters in India, the paid listings are not the bigger companies, because the latter do not feel the need to have a paid listing. If the site with the database also offers website design and hosting services, then the listings that come on top are usually the ones they got business from. Many of the resource sites are similar and even have the same information base. So, what would be the best way to find someone a source? I have tried to outline below some of the methods you could use to get more information. 1. Find a consultant based in India. You would need to pay such a consultant for their services, but it would be well worth your while. They would also do market research for you at a nominal cost. They need not be your buying agents, you could still deal with manufacturers in India directly, but they would be a useful link to have. 2. Ask for specific information, giving details of products you are interested in. No matter how small your quantities, you will find a supplier in India, who is willing to deal with you. In fact, if you have a niche market, the chances of finding someone reliable to do business with in India are even better. If you are just generally looking for suppliers of home furnishings based in India, you will get absolutely nowhere. 3. Send a few pictures of the kind of products that would be of interest to you. Without a visual, it is difficult to communicate. Posting trade leads with pictures is useful, although it is doubtful how many of those companies have an employee regularly visit the sites that carry their listing. My guess is, it would probably be ones based in remote towns where there is no other way to access information. 4. Once you have found a few suppliers for what you need, assess if they are willing to come and meet you personally. If the manufacturer finds you to be a potential client (and this is important), they will not hesitate to travel across the world to meet you. The kind of manufacturer you will find is likely to be determined by the volume/quality of business you are likely to give. 5. Assuming you are uncomfortable dealing with faceless companies based in India, consider the fact that most manufacturers and suppliers in India are equally uncomfortable dealing with someone they do not know or understand. If you make the effort to communicate with them, they will usually respond with the same enthusiasm. The ones that are more likely to be useful will not send you an email that looks like a mass-marketing mailer. 6. If you need samples, and you want to deal with a good company, you would need to pay them for it. A better way would be to ask for digital pictures or a CD. At any given point of time, a fabricator based in India has at least five requests a day for samples. Every single potential client promises big business. 7. The best way to assess the credibility of a potential supplier is to start small. That way you will know what their limitations are, and they will also be able to assess if they can do business with you. Even a cursory glance at the communications that keep going back and forth will give you an idea of what kind of a company you are dealing with. 8. Try to exchange information that would be useful to your supplier in India. If you can help them with information that you have access to in your country, they will go out of their way to help you find someone even if they do not manufacture the products you want. It builds trust, helps business, does not cost anything and does no one any harm. It could however, prove to be extremely beneficial. In pure commercial terms. To both parties. 9. To understand a fragmented market, the first step is to work in fragments that will create the whole. Keywords commonly used to find manufacturers from India-that will probably get you absolutely nowhere in terms of relevance and drag you into a cyber jungle that will leave you more confused than anything else?. "furnishings India, exporters home furnishings India, manufacturers bedspreads India, decorative pillows India, table linen manufacturers India, suppliers fabrics India, wholesale distributors, handicraft, embroidered textiles," The list goes on and on. The reason is simple. It is an organized chaos. But chaos nevertheless. 10. If you have the time and the resources, you could perhaps find what you want in one of these databases. If not, and you are still looking to do business in India, find a link in India. A link you can build a relationship with. Business is all about relationships. Especially small business. The home furnishings industry in India is still relatively small business. Rekha I Nambiar is an interior designer based in New Delhi,India. She runs her own business in interiors,furniture and furnishings. Her work may be viewed at www.id-home-furnishings.com">http://www.id-home-furnishings.com Her blog is www.20six.co.uk/furnishinghub">http://www.20six.co.uk/furnishinghub
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Béatrice Huret faces up 10 years in jail if convicted of helping Mokhtar – whom she met while volunteering at the since-demolished migrant camp in Calais – slip out of France under cover of night on a rickety boat. Continue reading...Assad regime has deployed chemical weapons including chlorine and sarin on number of occasions since outbreak of war in 2011 The Syrian military is making preparations for a chemical weapons attack that “would result in the mass murder of civilians, including children”. US military sources reportedly surprised by White House’s public warning that regime would pay heavily for repeat of April attack The White House warned the Syrian regime it would “pay a heavy price” for using chemical weapons after preparations for a possible attack were observed at a regime air base allegedly involved in a sarin attack in April. Related: What do we know about regime's use of chemical weapons in Syria? Continue reading...Fourteen-year-old Sota Fujii has broken a historical record by winning 29 consecutive shogi matches. The game is similar to chess and is played on a 9x9 board. Fujii won the game during the first round of the prestigious Ryuo championship in Tokyo. If he wins the tournament, he will take home 43m yen (£302,000) in prize money Continue reading...Chancellor’s party has resisted calls for same-sex marriage to be legalised but she says MPs should have free vote on matter Angela Merkel has signalled a change in her party’s opposition to gay marriage after stating MPs should be allowed a free vote in the German parliament. Speaking at an event organised by the magazine Brigitte, the German chancellor said she felt aggrieved that debate was mainly carried out along party lines and that she hoped it would be “headed towards a conscience vote”. Continue reading...Anniversary marks British North America Act of 1867, but many people are rejecting the official celebrations and instead highlighting indigenous resilience Two hundred paddlers will weave through the waters, their canoes carving a thin line in English Bay against the backdrop of Vancouver’s dramatic skyline. When they pull in to Vanier Park – one of the many destinations on their 10-day journey – local chiefs from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations will greet them and offer permission to step ashore on to their traditional territories. Continue reading...Millions follow live on TV as Sota Fujii scores 29th consecutive win in Japanese board game that last sparked the country’s interest in the mid-1990s A schoolboy has set a record for consecutive victories in professional shogi – a Japanese version of chess – winning plaudits from the prime minister and sparking a surge of interest in the board game. Sota Fujii, 14, recorded his 29th straight win late on Monday, taking more than 11 hours to beat his opponent in the first round of the prestigious Ryuo championship in Tokyo. Continue reading...Col Maksim Shapoval, who was head of a special forces unit, killed and passersby injured in terrorist act, government says A high-ranking Ukrainian military intelligence official has been killed by a car bomb in Kiev in what authorities are calling an act of terrorism. An explosive device destroyed the Mercedes being driven by Col Maksim Shapoval at 8.15am local time, police said. Continue reading...Planned improvements to Rio’s favelas have meant increases in rent, forcing the poorest families into squatting in unoccupied buildings. Photographer Tariq Zaidi visits the Mangueira community favela, less than 1km from the showpiece Maracanã stadium, to see what life is like for the women living there All photographs by Tariq Zaidi Continue reading...State Department’s annual report rewards Myanmar for efforts against recruitment of child soldiers, but says China not doing enough to end trafficking The US asserted on Tuesday that Myanmar is no longer one of the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking, removing it and Iraq from a list of countries that use child soldiers. But in its annual Trafficking in Persons report, the State Department also demoted China to the lowest ranking over its trafficking record, putting it in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria. Continue reading...Peru’s president condemns conditions of ‘slave workers’ as four young people die in blaze in Lima, at least two of whom were reportedly imprisoned inside Peru’s public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into human trafficking and labour exploitation following a fire in the capital that killed four young people. It is claimed that at least two of the men, Jorge Luis Huamán, 19, and Jovi Herrera, 21, had been locked inside a container on the roof of the Nicolini building in Lima by a boss they only knew as “gringo”, when fire ripped through it on 22 June. Continue reading...Unemployment crisis will ravage the continent if it doesn’t opt for market-based development, according to report by Tony Blair’s Institute Parts of Africa could face a massive unemployment crisis by 2040, with “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy, new research has found. The report predicted a shortfall of 50 million jobs, which should serve as a “wake up call” for governments across much of the continent, as well as international donors and agencies. According to the analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, based on world bank data, the labour force in sub-saharan Africa will be 823 million by 2040, up from 395 million in 2015. However, total number of jobs is only expected to hit 773 million, it said, leaving 50 million people in Africa unemployed. Continue reading...China is setting up agricultural centres across Africa, but in Zambia – where the majority of farmers are female smallholders – few women get the chance to learn On the highway heading towards Chongwe, 15km south-east of Lusaka, the red Chinese lettering, high flagpoles and gleaming modern architecture of the Zambia Chinese Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (ZATDC) stand out amid the vast fields of maize. It is one of 25 such centres built across the continent as part of a grand plan to bring agricultural training to local people, helping them produce better crops with higher yields, so that food security is improved for everyone. Continue reading...Once the family breadwinner, Hossein Panahi was among 150 people who died when a bomb ripped through the Afghan capital in May. Now his kin are destitute, adding to the toll of lives wrecked by the country’s violence As an only son, Hossein Panahi was his family’s sole provider. He supplied his sisters with clothes, his ailing parents with food and medicine, and built them all a house to live in. His salary meant his two older sisters did not have to marry young for dowry, but could wait for men they loved. He also put his third sister through law school. Continue reading...Sportswear brands review spate of incidents in factories where employees on short-term contracts work 10-hour days in soaring temperatures Women working in Cambodian factories supplying some of the world’s best-known sportswear brands are suffering from repeated mass faintings linked to conditions. Over the past year more than 500 workers in four factories supplying to Nike, Puma, Asics and VF Corporation were hospitalised. The most serious episode, recorded over three days in November, saw 360 workers collapse. The brands confirmed the incidents, part of a pattern of faintings that has dogged the 600,000-strong mostly female garment workforce for years. Continue reading...Tesco is to join Sainsbury’s in changing the branding of some ‘fairly traded’ products When four Sainsbury’s executives met farmers from some of Africa’s biggest tea-growing co-operatives in a hotel in Nairobi last month it should have been a mutual celebration of Fairtrade, the gold standard of ethical trading and the world’s most trusted and best-known food certification scheme. But instead of backslapping at the Pride hotel, the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade products precipitated the greatest crisis in the scheme’s 25-year history by telling the 13 major tea groups and their 228,000 co-operative members that it intended to drop the globally known Fairtrade mark for their produce, and replace it with the phrase “fairly traded”. Continue reading...Facts are the science world’s stock-in-trade, but in an era of fake news it is ever more important to build public trust by avoiding exaggerated claims and jargon One of my most cherished possessions is a handmade cherrywood salad bowl that’s never held a leaf of lettuce. It is 25 years old and gets more beautiful every year. The bowl was a gift, carved by a widower who was left to raise his daughter alone when his wife died under my care as an oncologist. My patient, who I’ll call Erica, had the most challenging form of breast cancer and I didn’t have the tools to save her life. I’ve always felt undeserving of the gift, despite doing everything I could. Five years later, I participated in the development of a medicine for Erica’s type of cancer, Herceptin. While regretting that it had not come fast enough for Erica, I am deeply grateful for the scientific advances that mean better care for patients like her today. Continue reading...The US president’s preference for public bellicosity and instant military action has potential to cause a lot of damage Donald Trump’s warning of renewed US military action against Syria, backed by Britain and condemned by Russia, fits a now established pattern of aggressive White House behaviour favouring violence, or public threats of violence, over quiet diplomacy and private coercion. So far, the damage has been limited. But it’s early days. Related: Three-quarters of world has little or no confidence in Trump, Pew study finds Continue reading...As US mulls strategy over country’s support for terrorist groups in Afghanistan, experts say tougher stance could drive Pakistan toward China and Russia The Trump administration is considering taking a harder stance against Pakistan for supporting terrorist groups in Afghanistan, but experts warn that pressure alone will not bring peace. Similar tactics have failed in the past, and analysts warn that the US can only influence the south Asian country by coupling force with diplomacy, which Donald Trump seems to shun. Continue reading...Analysis: The president celebrated the decision to allow parts of the ban to take effect, but ultimately, ‘the president might well lose on this’, says a legal expert Donald Trump was quick to proclaim victory when the supreme court decided to allow elements of one of his most controversial policies to take effect before justices hear the case in the fall. “Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision is a clear victory for our national security,” the US president said in a statement. “It allows the travel suspension for the six terror-prone countries and the refugee suspension to become largely effective.” Continue reading...The US supreme court has reversed lower court rulings, allowing the immigration order to take partial effect. Here’s what that means A watered-down version of the Trump administration’s “travel ban” is to take effect over the summer following a supreme court decision on Monday reversing a series of federal court rulings on the ban. The decision by the US’s highest court raises a number of questions about what the new ban will mean for people in the six Muslim-majority nations affected, as well as for a president who has been repeatedly stymied by the judiciary in the first five months of his administration. Continue reading...Treatment of dying Nobel peace prize winner is emblematic of China’s iron rule. Tania Branigan on the remarkable man she nearly met – the day he was arrested There was no sign of Liu Xiaobo in the Beijing coffee shop – a confusion over the place or time we had arranged to meet, I assumed. But he wasn’t answering his mobile phone and a call to his home brought worrying news: 10 police had arrived late the night before and taken him away. Even then, the writer’s disappearance did not seem overly concerning. Chinese dissidents and activists were used to pressure from the authorities and brief detentions for questioning, or worse. But Liu enjoyed a relative degree of tolerance because of his high profile, though he’d been jailed over 1989’s Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests when he helped broker a peaceful exit from the square for the remaining demonstrators amid the bloody crackdown – and again in the 90s. Continue reading...The national media failed to cover large swathes of the US pre-election, while rural voices have been quieted by the decimation of local news. Our On The Ground project aims to remedy these issues Sarah Smarsh is a journalist, but she’s not typical, at least not by national media standards. For starters, she’s a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up below the poverty line, feeding livestock and helping grow wheat on a small farm. She got her first taste for investigation and justice by following her grandmother, a probation officer, at the county courthouse in Wichita. Growing up, she rarely read about people she knew – farmers, carpenters, factory and restaurant workers – in the mainstream media. After more than 15 years covering Kansas politics and culture on the ground, she’s more committed than ever to her home, and to people often stereotyped or misunderstood in national coverage. Continue reading...The Guardian interviewed people from across the country who have relied on the coverage for life-saving assistance and what could happen if they lose it On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would satisfy a long-held campaign promise: the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan would also achieve another GOP priority: deep cuts to Medicaid, a program that covers the healthcare needs of nearly one in five Americans. Related: Will losing health insurance mean more US deaths? Experts say yes Continue reading...While Donald Trump backs the Saudi-led ultimatum, the state and defense departments are openly critical – a mixed message that could worsen the crisis The crisis created by the ultimatum delivered to Qatar by the Saudi-led Gulf coalition has been deepened by mixed messages from Washington. Related: 'Close al-Jazeera': Saudi Arabia gives Qatar 13 demands to end blockade Continue reading...Using government data, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of healthcare coverage increases the probability of death. Most conclude it does The Republican healthcare bill announced on Thursday would cause thousands of Americans to die each year, according to physicians who study government data. Using national health surveys, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of health insurance increases the probability of death. Most have concluded that it does. Continue reading...Around 30,000 honey bees swarm on a ledge at One Times Square, where the New Year’s Eve ball drop happens, in New York. Andrew Coté, a fourth generation beekeeper of AndrewsHoney.com, was called to the rescue and used a vacuum to suck up the bees, who he said were looking for a new home Continue reading...US President Donald Trump has spoken to Ireland’s newly-elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar from the Oval Office. During the call, reporters from the Irish media were present. At one point Trump tells Varadkar he has “a lot of these beautiful Irish press” in the room and singles out Caitriona Perry, asking her to come forward and tell him her name. As she explains who she works for, Trump says “she has a nice smile on her face so I’m sure she treats you well.” Perry, Washington correspondent for RTE, posted the exchange on Twitter, calling it “bizarre”. Continue reading...A reporter challenges deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday after she accused the media of perpetuating fake news against the Trump administration. Karim tells Huckabee Sanders that she is being inflammatory and adds that journalists are subject to professional standards Continue reading...Xiahe is famous for its Labrang monastery, the largest edifice of the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism and home to the largest number of monks outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery was founded in 1709 Continue reading...Hawaii attorney general Doug Chin says he believes in the president’s power to protect national security but not when it discriminates against people because of their national origin or religion. The nation’s highest court ruled on Monday that a travel ban may be enforced if visitors lack a connection with a person or entity in the United States. Hawaii sued to stop President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban in March. Chin says the decision is a partial victory for Hawaii because it allows people such as university students and relatives of US citizens to enter the country. “We expect our president to follow the law,” he says. Continue reading...Several potential jurors at the federal securities fraud trial of Martin ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli were excused on Monday after telling the judge they couldn’t be impartial toward the flamboyant former pharmaceutical CEO because of his notoriety for raising the cost of a life-saving drug 5,000 percent. Though Shkreli’s notoriety came from Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis and HIV, the federal securities fraud case is unrelated. Continue reading... |
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Reminders For Running A Better Business The following tips are from an article we contributed to Compute magazine. These are ideas that we all should know, but many times forget. 7 Money Saving Tips to Decrease Home Business Expenses We all know that running a home business is highly satisfying, and at times downright liberating! No clock to punch, no dress code, and best of all, no boss to answer to. But there are also many facets of business ownership that entrepreneurs must stay on top of. How to Counsel Your Non-Performing Team Members - 10 Tips Counselling non-performing team members is a tough part of any managers role. This article is full of tips to help you perform this difficult role. 7 Keys to Running a Successful Business Although dentistry may appear to be different than other types of businesses, in reality it is a business. And although this article is written from a dentist's perspective on developing a successful practice, the principles can be used in virtually any business. Performance-Stress-Motivation: 7 Sanity Saving Business Boundaries The lack of strong boundaries is one of the chief causes of stress, overwork and overwhelm in the business environment.What are Boundaries?Clearly set boundaries help other people to understand how you want to be treated. 7 Tips for Home Business Start-up Success 1) Prepare a realistic business plan.Think of this as your business road map. Top Ten Tips for Improving Your Cash Flow Cash is king-so they say. If you work for yourself or someone else, you need to be aware of ways to improve the cash flow. Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of the Next Training You Attend Sometime soon you will be attending some training. It may be a one hour tele-seminar, a one day class, professional conference, or a weekend retreat. Ten Tips for Cross Cultural Communication Here are some simple tips to help you improve your cross cultural communication skills: Slow Down Even when English is the common language in a cross cultural situation, this does not mean you should speak at normal speed. Slow down, speak clearly and ensure your pronunciation is intelligible. Brainstorming! The Key To Wealth Advertising executive Alex F. Osborne first coined the word "brainstorming" in the early 1940's. Event Planning: Seven Best Practices Successful Planners Use Do you plan events for the corporate world like product launches, conferences, seminars, etc? If so, check out these seven practices of successful event planners.It's easy to dismiss these points thinking they're trivial. 7 Reasons You ARE Your Own Best Product, or Lessons From the 2004 Presidential Election The 2004 election is over--at least in the minds of the public--and analysis runs rampant as to why Senator John Kerry lost. From a business viewpoint, one could say that he simply didn't sell the product. Top Ten Ways to Manage Interruptions So many people I worked with said they got more work done at home than in the office. That was because there were so many interruptions in the office. Plan Your Success In Seven Ways Many businesses lose money yearly because they don't think creatively about the future. They run their businesses doing what they think they should: dealing with customers, dealing with problems, ordering for their business, and paying their expenses. 10 Things To Do Before You Start Your Business If you are thinking of starting a new business, or if you are just about to take the plunge, you will know that there is a lot that you have to do. But where do you start? It is a good idea to get some of the groundwork done before you start, possibly this will often mean things that you hadn't thought about, things that most people do as a reaction to circumstances rather than as a planned activity. Ten Tips on Delegating Work One way to manage your time more effectively is to delegate work to others on your staff or to contract workers you hire for specific projects. How often I hear such comments as, "It takes too much time to delegate. Top Ten Tips for Participating in Online Business Expos Are you ready for a BASH? Have you ever been a vendor or exhibitor at an expo, craft show or other offline event? Well, when you are a participant in an online bash or online expo - many of the same expo tips apply. Here are the Top Ten essential business expo tips for online events. 10 E-mail Organization Tips Who doesn't have issues with organizing their inbox!? I receive close to 600 e-mail each day due to the variety of activities and contacts I have online. Some I am truly interested in their content - most I am not. Advice for New Coaches: 10 Ways to Attract Your First Paying Client and Receive Endless Referrals Many new coaches struggle to attract their first client. Often, these coaches are so desperate to prove themselves, they'll sacrifice their financial health to coach their first few clients for free. 7 Tips To Increase The Success Of Your Online Business 1. Outsource what takes you too long to doWhen you don't have time to do something, you either don't do it, or do it faster and make mistakes.
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