Hello…with a great E comm buzz around and a lot of start ups coming in this area and trying to bring various products online, it seems like HANDICRAFT industry has been greatly neglected. Though we have a lot of portals performing very well in Textile and Jewelry segment, but home decor items are still missing from the scene except a few brass and wood carving items.Moreover when it comes to Quality, Design and Value ,E-Comm space is still missing out.
India exports roughly 4 billion USD of handicraft each year (roughly 7% growth year-on-year) and world giants like IKEA, Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour etc. are the biggest clients, with products like antique glass, Crystalware, high-end cutlery and serving pieces, carved metal products, dry flowers etc.
So why in your opinion, the online market in Indian Handiraft home decor products has not picked up?
I am posting a few images of products to give a better idea.
This is antique silver glass votive with jewels.
This is hand crafted cutlery set, with glass beaded handle.
And there are many more..!!
Kindly check the website links I have mentioned in reply.
asha chaudhry
basis on what do you say the online market of indian handicrafts home decor products hasn’t picked up??
pls share some stats!
this is so general and loose a statement… there are heaps of sites for this industry!
Avi Jain
Yes ma’am, there are many sites which offer traditional home decor handicraft products but my point is why the designing and quality is missing from the scene.
Since images speak louder than words, I will share a few with you to elucidate my point.(this is a pic of pottery barn’s antique glass range)
https://www.potterybarn.com/
https://www.houzz.com/
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/decoration/
and many others.
The point is the handicraft industry hasn’t really received any improvement in terms of designing, quality of the material used, or how to make the whole process economical.
asha chaudhry
pls add a couple of images to your post to elaborate…
Avi Jain
Done!!
Amit Shroff
Hi Avi,
There could be several factor which could be a reason. Like a Handicraft exports who are exporting to companies like IKEA, Walmart is satisfied with business being generated through these channels. Here are some of my thoughts.
1. Retail VS Wholesale – Dealing with a retail customer is challenging then a wholesale customer. Factors like Order Size & Profit matters here, additionally you are handling large order compare to small orders in case of retail customer. The retail customer is more demanding then a wholesale customer and need additional services. So things like phone call, coordination etc increases like 5-Wholesale Customer compare to 5000 Retail Customer. Mean you need larger team and this could add to additional cost and expenses.
2. Small Manufacturers – They don;t have expertise to build eCommerce store or do not have huge capital. Hence do not have choice.
3. Logistic – Whether you believe it or not, logistic is till a big issue in India. You don’t get good service or rate if you cannot committee good volume to logistic companies.
4. Packaging – The product you shown below – Imagine if I need a good packing, so that they don’t break while they are being ship. Again difficult if you don’t have a volume.
5. Price – India is price sensitive market – where everything works on price. i.e. you can loose a customer if your competitor is selling a product at Rs 5 less then your price.
Similar other factor could be a reason. But if you wish to start a eCommerce market place for Handicraft in India. Let me know, we can help you. Please find below a brief intro to 72interactive.
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Avi Jain
Thanx a lot Amit for your well put answer and support.
Yes, I agree with the points you have raised as they are really the challenges faced by our handicraft Industry. 1) The artisans can not simply work on marketplace model.
2) Yes, India is price sensitive market, but we should not forget the fact that people dont really shy away from purchasing expensive items, its just they want equal or sometimes more value from the product than the price they pay for it(its what i think.).
But if we look on other side, IKEA deals directly with customers through their concept stores and Online platform and handles all the major issues you have mentioned.
So my point here is no-e commerce platform is really active in this segment in our country. Its a little tough to crack but I feel we need the next level of home decor, where you get hand crafted products which make them unique and at same time with contemporary designs which really find a way into our modern lifestyle.