APPROACH NOTE

As on March 4th, 2008

Festa Italiana, now in its seventh year, has become an annual happening in India to showcase the best of Italy to an increasingly sophisticated and upwardly mobile public.

The successful 2007 edition saw Festa Italiana spreading out of Mumbai to reach the urban eliteinDelhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Calcutta, and even upcoming cities such as Pune and Chandigarh.

In 2008 the Chamber has decided to utilize this well known brand to provide an opportunity to Italian Companies present in India to showcase their products to the local business and media communities, as also to consumers;this opportunity will essentially showcasethe business relationship between the two countries through an exposition.

The exposition will also help the Chamber to:

  • Strengthen its relations with the Italian Companies present in India
  • Strengthen its relations with its Indian network (Indian institutions, associations, journalists and media, opinion leaders, celebrities, etc)
  • Strengthenits relations with its Italian partners
  • Maintain brand visibility for Festa Italiana
  • Strengthen relations with its members

The Festa Italianaexpositionwill be held in the city of Mumbai at the Nehru Centre, for a period of 6 days in the month of November(Tuesday 4th to Sunday 9th– inauguration on Monday 3rd afternoon). The NehruCenter has already been booked from the 1st to the 11th of November.

The expositionwill be an event dedicated to the promotion of the typical sectors/products of “Made in Italy”. The Nehru Centre exhibition area will be divided into 6 categories:

  • Automotive and Industrial design: Italian companies present in India will have an area on the first floor of Nehru Centre at their disposal to showcase their latest products and to promote their new designs, technologies, etc.
  • Sistema Casa: interior design (furniture, lighting, etc); textile (textiles for sofa, curtains, linen): construction elements and decorations in silver, marble, stone; ceramic tiles, taps and fittings, all the structural and decorative elements needed for a modern house’s interior design. All the above products will find place in two re-created houses built on the second floor of the Nehru centre. Italian companies’ present in India will have the opportunity to select a few emblematic pieces and “decorate” the two re-created houses. Italian companies will also have the opportunity to showcase their specific products in an area (on the second floor as well) designed for this purpose – SEE ALL. 1
  • Sistema Persona: clothing industry; shoes; knitwear; underwear; leather; accessories (tie, foulard, tights, socks, hats, bags, gloves,eyewear); sports clothing and shoes. Well-known Italian brands that have already entered the Indian market will be allocated space on the first floor of the Nehru Centre. Visitors walking through the Sistema Persona casa will have the opportunity to experience the unique Italian fashion aesthetic as well as the technology behind a Made in Italy garment.
  • Food and Wine: Italian food and wine products already present in the Indian market will be allocated space on the third floor of the Nehru Centre. One area will be dedicated to food and another one to a beverage – wine. A typical food and wine shop will be re-created to convey the real Italian culinary experience to the Indian visitor.
  • Tourism:Indian tour operators selling Italy as atourist destination in collaboration with ENIT – Italian State Tourist Board, will find place on the first floor of the Nehru Centre.
  • Service area: The service area will accommodate: 1) Chamber’s partners such as its representative desks 2) Italian banks, financial institutions, consultancies, and other companies whose services are a support to the Italian companies present in India.

The exposition plan will also reserve specific areas on both the ground floor and the second floor for the creation of business centres. Here, Italian companies participating in the exhibition will have the opportunity to meet possible clients/counterparts etc.

Three social areas will be located on the ground floor and on the third floor: a cafeteria where the visitors will have the opportunity to taste a real Italian cappuccino and taste Italian snacks such as tramezzini, pizza and Italian ice cream; two terraces on the third floor where theme dinners and lunches will be organized.

The exposition will target traders and consumersduring specific times of the day making this an opportunity for both B2B and B2C exchanges.

Consumers: It will be an occasion for Italian companies/brands present in India to increase their brand visibility and strengthen their “Made in Italy” image.

Traders: It will be a unique opportunity for traders to present their Italian products within a fully Italian context to their stakeholders- clients, buyer, agents, distributors, employees etc.

An expositioncatalogue, showcasing all the Italian Companies present in India, along with store/retail locationswill be published and circulated amongst the Chambers members, the exposition visitors, Indian and Italian entrepreneurs, etc.

Each Italian Company will have the opportunity to cover 1 ormore pages of the publication in accordance with theirsigned participation contract stating their role in the exposition.

A proper promotional/ media plan will be developed to market the event. Promotion of the exposition will be done through media such as major metro newspapers, radio, outdoor hoardings, mailers, outdoor banners and a website.

The Chamber is also considering organizing2 seminars/conferences/round tables related to two of the major categories covered by the exposition: Auto and Lifestyle (Sistema casa/Sistema persona).Specific activities will be organized in collaboration with Italian companies present in India and there will be opportunities to not only explorethe famous Italian sense of design but also to discuss and present cutting edge technologiesutilized by a beautiful car, a comfortable chair, and an impeccable man’s suit, for example. The seminars/conference/round tables will be followed by a guided visit to the exposition.

The above seminars/conference/round tables could be also replicated in other cities; the latter will be identifiedwith the aid of the Italian companies involved in the activities.

The logistics and set up of the whole area will be given to a professional fair/exhibition event management company; this will be coordinated by an Italian Architect.

DATE

The Expo will be open to the public from Tuesday 4thto Sunday 9thNovember, 2008.

The set up will take place from the 1st to the 4th noon and the exposition will be dismantledfrom the 9th evening to the 11th.

LOCATION:

Mumbai: Nehru Centre, Mumbai. Two large exhibition halls on the ground floor, three halls on the second floor, two halls on the third floor and two terracesadding up to a total of 2100 sqmt gross has been booked.

COLLATERAL EVENTS

Italian Cooking courses

In collaboration with ICIF, Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners, the Chamber will organize cooking courses. It will address the following groups over four different days:

  1. Professional chefs
  2. Catering colleges and institutes
  3. Opinion makers and journalists
  4. General public

A permanent Italian restaurant can also be set up during the exposition to cater to the various events which will be held during the event.

Fashion Show:

Another collaboration with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana has been considered this year.

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana has suggested a collective show withbig Italian brands, internationally well known (such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Alberta Ferretti,Bluemarine)

The Fashion Show would be held in a scenic location in Mumbai.

One or more sponsors will be discussed along with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana as will the suggested brand/brands in order to cover the costs of such an event (choreography, logistic, travel, accommodation, promotion, PR, etc).

The organization of the fashion show is subject to procuring sponsorship.

Concert:

A new collaboration with the “Le Vie della Seta” – Puglia Region (Ensamble U. Giordano) along with the Symphony Orchestra of India, will be taken under consideration.

This could be the Festa Italiana 2008 closing event, to be held at NCPA (Bhabha Theatre) and to be followed by a Gala Dinner, at the NCPAOpenAirPlaza.

Impresa Award:

The Impresa Award wasinitiated by the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the year 1998; it has become one of the most important reference points for Indian companies with business relationswith Italy. The main objective of the award is to recognize the entrepreneurial excellence in business relations across the varied sectors of Indo-Italian trade and commerce.

Italian language day:

Follow the success of the first edition in 2007, the Chamber will re-organize the Italian Language day during Festa Italiana 2008.

It will be a celebration of the language, food and culture of Italy. The event will begin with introductory remarks from the IICCI’s language teachers, followed by short speeches on tourism in Italy, food, lifestyle, cinema. Videos on specific topics such as tourism or lifestyle will also be projected.

The Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry