B2QB and B2C Exhibition

FLO Jaipur organized  B2QB and B2C Exhibition on 29th  and 30th  January 2018 in Hotel Marriot. It was an exclusive lifestyle exhibition with women entrepreneurs showcasing Apparel, Jewellery, Fashion Accessories, Home Décor, Professional services, silverware and many more. There were as many as 72 stalls in this exhibition.

The main objective of this exhibition is to promote business development, networking and exposure, increase social media presence, business outreach and connect businesses with professionals. The Exhibition was visited by many members and non-members too.

FLO organised various knowledge and talk sessions by industry prominent designers and speakers. The topics covered included Talks by Vikram Phadnis on the Business of Fashion, Prof’s from IIM B Ganesh Prabhu & Seema Gupta on Strategy Management & Social Media Marketing respectively, Mandira Wirk on Personal Style or Expensivce Fashion, Eina Ahuwalia on Jewellery & Self Esteem & Anand Pillai on Intrapreneurship.

One on one personalized expert advice by the speakers after each knowledge session was  also organized for the exhibitors. Fashion Designer Poonam Bhagat too,  visited this exhibition & had a Tete a Tete with the exhibitors & gave suggestions for their business.

Few takeaways from their talks is as follows:

1. Vikram Phadnis – He is so honest to share that even now it’s not a cake walk for him as a celebrity designer to have a continuous business. He believes in healthy competition which gives him spirit to bring his utmost creativity .He says,: it’s his policy to satisfy all his clients…No bride has gone without a bridal dress from him-so ‘customers are the boss’. On plus sizes; he commented that they are the clients who have the deepest pockets. For dead stock he commented that they have been lucky enough to not have anu but whenever is has happens he suggests that it should be sold as genuine discounted products. Not by increasing the price first & then offering the discount. Also deaf stock should never be mixed with the new stock else customers loose interest. Whatever is todays news & tomorrow’s old stuff. In this world of social media the content must be regularly updated. Your competitors are always thinking two steps ahead of you. He also believes in creative freedom which he let his designers to bring on. His story started with his first love for Choregraphy and then designing . His philosophy has been to make his client happy . If someone cannot afford a Vikram Phadnis which is exorbitantly priced ; he has a range to satisfy the other clientele also . Vikram said everyone’s journey is different and one must enjoy every phase of his / her life . He didn’t want to continue his family tradition of following what his parents were doing . He wanted to do something of his own ,.. something that his heart was calling for .
2. Anand Pillai :  It’s impossible to live a life w/o failure until u live so carefully that u don’t fail in which case u have failed by default basically it’s entrepreneurship which makes u an entrepreneur. Glass ceiling is transparent and breakable.  Then why should we let it restrict us from going high in life. One must respond, not react. Mr. Anand Pillai as usual totally nailed it ..according to him the main thing in life that keeps you going is your passion . He is so high on spirits even after 6 close deaths on his family in the span of 11 years .. only because he is motivated by his passion.
3. Eina Aluhiwalia- exquisite jewellery designer shares her exclusive jewellery pieces with individual story telling.  Each piece of jewellery is an Expression in itself.  Each piece of jewellery since history has a story to tell of its own.  Being feminist herself,  her pieces speak an element of feminism with a message. Though not all her pieces sold all but all her pieces were made with passion. Eina Ahluwalia traces the history of jewellery. She explains the meaning of jewellery and it’s changing representations around the world which has changed dramatically since 1150. Jewellery , according to her, characterises the occupation, status, caste, etc. of the person wearing it. A very interesting and engrossing watch about the multiple facets of jewellery.
4. Seema Gupta, Prof IIM Banglore shares the prominence of social media as a strong tool in marketing in 21st century. She enriches us with spl features of Facebook ,instagram ,twitter etc to target the right kind of audience with the specific trades. According to her social media can be a easy platform to take creative risk and connect to masses.
5. Mandira Wirk – she is the most beautiful & most grounded celebrity designer. According to her every one is a designer themselves. U know urself better with time .. It’s not necessary to wear branded or luxury to look good . She shares when u are styling celebrities for an advertisement campaign u have to go out of the box to meet the requirements . She also believes all body types has their own styles so if u are aware of your body type then you can able to choose right clothes for yourself . So always go with your instincts & wear ur attitude.
6. Ganesh Prabhu- prof IIM Banglore shares the strategy of management & what should be our mission statement & how we can redesign it for our product.  He addreswsed four basic questions
7. What is your MISSION, What Business are you in ?  Is it an Attractive business? Is it the right business for you ?
8. How do firms define their mission- What the firm does (its Business), What it stands for (its value’s ), and what it wants to become (Vision )
9. It communicates with all stake holders. Guides evolution of the firm over time & helps in implementing its strategies.
10. Effective Mission statements – Mission statement should Identify the firm Uniquely, Be short & meaningful, Be somewhat broad & flexible.
11. How do Firms define their Business? – Defining Business has three dimension Customer, Needs & Technology
12. Strategy Making Sequence: Identify & Apprise available resources & seek opportunities for better utilization, capabilities for better application. Access areas of competitive advantages & sustainably appropriate the gains from it.