The Leather and Components fair will be staged parallel to GDS from September 10 to 12. It will feature leather, soles, accessories and machinery involving all aspects of shoe manufacturing.

About Indian 30 footwear and 10 footwear component companies have confirmed with the Council for Leather Exports (CLE) their participation in the fair.Leading companies like Farida Shoes, Mirza Tanners, Bonaventure and KH Shoes will be having their own pavilions.

They will display high fashion and comfort shoes, riding boots, safety shoes, men's, ladies and children's leather shoes and sandals, casual shoes, shoe uppers and finished leather.

The agenda during the fair is full of activities for the Indian team with fashion shows, lectures by the industryexperts and government officials, press conferenes and a culinary touch in the very important buyers (VIB) club.

GDS stands for `Major German shoe sample showcase', and the September fair will be the 88th of this biennial (March & September) event.

The fair, described as the `world footwear market in condensed form', is expected to attract over 1600 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and over 50,000 visitors from all over the world.

According to the GDS organisers, in addition to the broad category of international fashion, there will be several areas of special focus including top style international, exclusivity and accessories order, kids corner, wellness & comfort, young fashion - life style and sports, and international basic. There will also shop and deco section and trade info forum.

Peter Kern, an international shoe consultant, based in Frankfurt, during his recent visit to Chennai said while all the other German or European shoe exhibitions are `informational' trade fairs, GDS is an`order' fair, tuned to the global order cycle of the industry.

``The bottom line is that those who wish to strategically position their companies internationally must showcase at GDS continuously from season to season and consistantly field a competitive collection that will withstand the scrutiny of international competition.

``It is consistant international presence that guarantees market entry in the medium-term and the achievement of international market standing in the long-term.''

Leading Indian footwear exporters say that participation in international fairs is the only way of boosting exports.

The export of footwear and components from India at Rs 2370 crore, in 1998-99, is only very marginal compared to its potential and the size of the world market.

Indian manufacturers, a large majority of them, close to 1.5 lakh, in the small sector, produce 500-700 million pairs of footwear. But hardly 30 million pairs are exported. (China exports over 2 billion pairs.) Almost 60 per cent of India'sexports are to three countries, the US, the UK and Germany.

The major reason for the poor Indian footwear performance is the Asian and East European competition in the same segment as India's exports.

Another drawback is the lack of brands and tradition in styles. Most of the Indian exports are execution of sub-contracts.

According to Kern, ``merely copying Italian, French or American trendsetters in footwear is not a viable survival strategy in an increasingly global and fiercely competitive market. Only highly distinct collections that clearly set themselves apart from competition will enable companies over long-term to carve out an image which is uniquely their own, and thus ensure viability in the market place.''

The Indian footwear indsutry's efforts to design and develop own unique styles are being greatly supported by the Shoe Design Centre of CLRI.