Revision as of 10:00, 2 September 2013

Brassware, modern crafts and exports

The brass age is over

Trendy new Moradabad products now find their way into upscale homes in the West

Avijit Ghosh | TNN

The Times of India 2013/09/01

Moradabad: It isn’t an exact replica but the detailing in the three-foot-tall Eiffel Tower immediately grabs the eye. “There is an order for 500 pieces from a major US buyer. Each of them would be priced around $50,” says Avinash Mehra, an executive with the company, as he surveys the capacious packaging hall at his C L Gupta Exports Limited. Nearby, dozens of antique-looking mercury lamps sit next to each other. “About 10,000 of these will be sold to a major international retail store headquartered in San Francisco,” says Mehra.

(Brassware makes up only 5% of Moradabad’s output today. Even miniature Eiffel Towers are made of mild steel)

For many, Moradabad evokes the image of traditional brassware; think giant diyas, shiny tumblers and horses. But that’s so yesterday. Exporters in this western Uttar Pradesh town now also manufacture trendy home décor items. These include floor lamps, umbrella stands, candleholders, shoe racks and scores of similar items made of wood, glass, iron, steel and aluminium. Brass is only 5% of Moradabad’s overall output these days. Even the miniature Eiffel Towers at the factory are made of mild steel.

Buying agents admit the quality of exported goods has improved substantially in recent years. Largely why they are being peddled in thousands of upscale retail stores run by companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel across the US and Europe.

“We are not peddling ethnicity anymore. We are selling stylish fashion products,” says Mohammed Mansoor, who owns Rashid Exports and has 70 foreign buyers in countries such as Germany, France and the US. To stay on the ball, he even shells out $2,000 annually to a fashion company for tips on colour forecasting. “It’s important to know which colours will be in vogue the coming season,” he says.

Raghav Gupta, managing director of Gupta Exports, says their company has invested about Rs 50 lakh in the finishing line and facilities for lacquering. “We do our own designs. Our design team, including those engaged in prototyping, consists of 40 employees. Sometimes even customers chip in with ideas. One US buyer wanted an outdoor candle lighting stand in the shape of a pineapple. We fulfill such demands,” he says.

Moradabad’s annual turnover is estimated at roughly Rs 3,500 crore. About 70% of its business is still export-based. The town first tasted the good life riding an export boom in the 1980s. But exporters are not sure when things changed and first got chic and trendier in these parts. Vijay Gupta, president of ATOZ, an export house, thinks the improvements in quality and design have happened only over the last decade. But Mansoor maintains that changes have come in the last five years. “The 2008 recession gave us access to the US middle class. We have evolved and upgraded ourselves since then,” he says.

Change also came after buying agents joined the party. These agents ensure both quality merchandising and timely delivery on behalf of the procurer. Omveer Singh Arya, senior merchandiser, Flatworld, says, “The quality of products has certainly improved. The products are definitely more fashionable now. Even the styrofoam packaging today is of international standards. Exporters are more professional now than what they were, say, 10 years ago.”

This ensures that the good times keep rolling in Moradabad. Besides, there’s also the icing on the cake: the freefalling rupee, which ensures an immediate swell in both business and profits for exporters.