Namaste! Greetings from Delhi India.
As we are trying to figure out what a “truce” to the trade war really means, this week I’m attending the Delhi Fair to learn more about sourcing from India.
For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Delhi Trade Fair is probably the largest trade show in India with over 4,000 suppliers. You might call it the “Canton Fair” of India.
Given the ongoing trade war between the US and China resulting in tariffs as high as 25-30%, as well as increasing labor costs, environmental compliance costs, material costs in China, many businesses are looking to source away from China.
Now India is one of the key hotspots to source product from with a seemingly endless supply of low cost labor.
At the Delhi Fair, there are over 3,000 Indian suppliers who focus on the following industries
- Lamps and Lighting accessories
- Lawn and Garden accessories
- Fashion jewelry, bags, and accessories
- Home furnishing carpet, rugs and flooring
- Christmas decor, incense, candles, potpourri
- Furniture and accessories
In terms of materials India is strong in the following:
- Leather products
- Wooden products
- Natural fabrics such as cotton
Overall here are my quick takeaways:
- India is strong in handmade, labor-intensive products. Think wooden handcrafted trinkets, wooden furniture, and wooden products used in the home. Conversely, they are less able to compete in products that require machine processes and automation that are usually mass produced in China
- Expect low MOQs. While 500pcs is a standard minimum order quantity from China, you can get MOQs of 50pcs or less without any pushback from Indian suppliers. Though as a general rule, the lower the MOQ, the higher the price.
- Expect HIGH prices – this really surprised me. I was expecting to find lower prices in India but quotes for metal-mixed material products (e.g. Wood and metal) and leather products came in a lot higher than I expected. I will share more details in a future post.
- India is strong in NATURAL materials such as cotton, silk, leather, etc. Don’t expect to find high quality nylon, polyester, and other manmade fabrics made in India. This is because of the lack of equipment needed to manufacture quality synthetic materials. For example I was sourcing a nylon bag for my product was told that I shouldn’t expect to find it made for a good quality and price in India. They said to get it from China instead where the necessary machinery can be found.
I’ve spent two days at the fair so far and have been learning a lot.
Meanwhile, I met with several 80/20 Sourcing readers and 7 Figure Seller Summit viewers here in India which was amazing. Several of them said that they started their Amazon businesses and decided to come to India after viewing my content.
Thanks for being a loyal reader Stuart! Stories like this keep me going the highs and lows of running this business.
Also, a special thank you to Meghla Bhardwaj from Megadi who organized the Sourcing from India trip that I attended. Their weeklong trip was like a crash course in learning to source from India and learning about Indian culture.
I will write more about this once I get back from my trip but I highly recommend you check out their April 2020 trip if you’re interested in sourcing from India.
Talk soon,
Gary
PS if you’re interested in sourcing from India. I highly recommend you check www.indiasourcingtrip.com. They are now taking reservations for their April 2020 trip and you can get a super early bird discount and save $1000 if you sign up by Oct 20th 11:59EST.
Fantastic explanation of what the Fair is all about – thanks Gary