Between Delhi and Düsseldorf: Building Bridges Between India and Europe Through Trade Fairs

As the purchasing power of India’s population grows, so does the retail sector. New stores are opening up in all corners of the vast country, from supermarkets and fashion outlets to consumer electronics stores and upscale shops selling luxury goods such as watches and jewelry. Indian and international retail companies and consumer goods manufacturers are doing brisk business on the Indian subcontinent. Benefiting from this development, among many others, is GKW Retail Solutions – India’s leading Tech-Led Turnkey Retail Solution provider.  GKW stands at the forefront of innovation in retail environments, offering comprehensive tech-led turnkey solutions to some of the most prominent premium apparel, lifestyle, beauty, consumer durables and FMCG brands across the globe. With an unwavering commitment to excellence and precision, GKW has positioned itself as India’s leading partner in transforming retail spaces into immersive brand experiences.

“What sets GKW apart is its multinational presence – a rare feat in the retail solutions industry. Operating across India, Germany, Australia, Turkey, and Serbia, the company seamlessly blends local insights with global standards, enabling it to cater to the diverse needs of global brands with consistency and agility,” says GKW Founder and Managing Director Shreesh Sharma. His company operates in all retail sectors. “We achieve our highest profit margins in the luxury goods segment, because that’s where retail brands and their customers have the most demanding standards when it comes to the quality of retail fittings.”

Expanding globally, GKW Retail Solutions serves world-renowned companies such as Coca-Cola, Samsung, Unilever, L’Oréal, Reliance, Aditya Birla and many more. GKW’s client-centric approach, backed by robust processes and future-forward thinking, makes it the partner of choice for retail brands looking to create differentiated customer experiences at scale. The company’s presence at In-store Asia – part of the international portfolio of Düsseldorf's world-leading trade fair EuroShop – is a key factor to achieve its goals. “All major brands and retailers from across India attend this retail show, which offers an excellent platform to showcase our product portfolio to both existing clients and new prospects,” says Shreesh Sharma, who has been accompanying the development of In-store Asia since its first edition in 2005. “With the share of international visitors from Asia, the Gulf region, Europe increasing steadily, the show offers us ideal conditions for making contacts – in both the domestic and the global market.”

A New Center for Bilateral Economic Partnerships

India’s economic rise and innovative strength are also having a positive impact in Europe, especially in Düsseldorf. Here, Messe Düsseldorf’s leading global trade shows serve as a central hub for European-Indian business relations. Between 2014 and 2024, a total of 3,688 Indian companies exhibited in Düsseldorf. During the same period, 129,380 visitors from India attended trade fairs in the city. This makes India the third-largest non-European visitor nation and the fourth-largest in terms of exhibitors.

In India, Messe Düsseldorf operates one of its nine international subsidiaries, with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. It organizes 16 trade fairs across the country – more than in any other international market. These events are powerful showcases for Düsseldorf and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as global hubs for business and trade fairs. The city is also home to the newly established India Competence Centre Düsseldorf, where the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), the City of Düsseldorf, and Messe Düsseldorf pool their competencies. The center’s experts advise and support German companies interested in gaining a foothold in the Indian market – and Indian companies looking to expand into Germany. 


Recapturing the German market is one of the plans for the future on the mind of Rajiv Nath, Managing Director of Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd (HMD). The Indian company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medical syringes and the market leader in its home country. HMD supplies medical technology distributors in more than 100 countries. For a long time, Germany was among them, but due to changes in German approval requirements, HMD was prohibited from supplying its customers there and required to have its syringes recertified – a time-consuming and costly process. And now, the tariff-related political disputes between the U.S. and China are causing additional major disruptions to the supply chains for medical syringes.

Trade Shows: Opening Doors to Global, European and Indian Markets

“Many players in our industry are currently looking for new international trade and manufacturing partners, which also creates many new opportunities for us,” says Rajiv Nath. HMD aims to tap into new sales regions, expand existing markets and regain a foothold in lost markets. Rajiv Nath is convinced that participating in events at Messe Düsseldorf is essential to achieving these goals: “MEDICA in Düsseldorf offers a valuable opportunity to meet many of our existing global partners in one place. It’s an ideal platform as well to introduce our product innovations to new prospects, get direct feedback and talk to healthcare professionals from around the world. These interactions give us important insights into their daily challenges and help us to continuously improve our offerings.”

 Equally essential for HMD is its presence at Medical Fair India. “India is a geographically huge and diverse market. Without this trade show, it would be difficult to stay in touch with all our partners through regular trips alone. Moreover, we get to establish lots of new relationships at the trade show thanks to the increasing share of international participants,” says the HMD director.

India’s economic growth is also accelerating the trade show business. According to estimates by jwc, a management consultancy specializing in trade shows, the amount of exhibition space rented in India is growing by 10% annually: from 2.6 million square meters (approximately 28 million square feet) in 2024 to 4.6 million square meters (approximately 49.5 million square feet) in 2030. There’s a simple reason why there’s so much demand: Many companies are currently focusing on expansion and have recognized how helpful trade show appearances are in opening up new sales markets. For European and Indian companies, the greatest benefit comes from the interplay between the leading global trade shows in Düsseldorf and the strong regional shows in India because that’s how long-lasting German-Indian business relationships are formed.