Ask any fashionista where she gets her unique wardrobe from and you are most likely to hear that she has shopped at Hi Life at least once. With 130+ premium exhibitions a year conducted across Indian metros and cities such as Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Coimbatore and overseas, Hi Life Exhibition is a force to reckon with.

Hi Life Exhibition started small but its founder Aby Dominic had big dreams. Targeted at the high-end woman who looks for fashionable and unique ensembles and accessories, the first ever exhibition was held at Hyderabad in 2013. This was a resounding success and from then on, there was no turning back.

Looking at the luxury segment, each of the four consumer brands, Hi Life, Design Library, Hi Life Brides and Hi Life Jewels, is a leader in its category and has been associated with and endorsed by super models, celebrities and beauty queens celebrated for their fashion vibes.

Dominic always harboured a passion for fashion, lifestyle and a relentless entrepreneurial spirit. This combination of creativity and business acumen led to the inception of Hi Life Exhibition, a unique platform that bridges the gap between emerging designers and fashion enthusiasts.

Dominic’s innings as an entrepreneur have been highly successful. He had rich experience of 18 years heading the exhibition division of a major publishing house. He organised events which included exhibitions, awards and all lot of promotional activities.

Decoding the Indian woman
Today’s self-assured woman sees clothes as an expression of herself and looks for clothes that make her stand apart. Dominic caters to that, “Our exhibitions offer exclusivity, you can find styles not commonly available in the market or a shopping mall. We get a designer mix from different parts of the country, whether is a bridal collection or a cocktail party. Everybody likes to wear Indian clothes or have an Indian touch, whether there is a lehenga or gowns with an Indian touch or the Indo Western wear.”

Surmounting challenges
Every business poses its own challenges and what was it that Dominic was really up against. “It was in the premium B2C segment and this is not really an organised industry, we wanted to make it as professional as we could and bring it to international levels. We identified the right platform, the right vendors, the kind of people who were looking for a platform, especially people who passed out from NIFT and want to showcase their creative talent. Many of the vendors are designers who have great talent but don’t have a boutique or any kind of store or anything.”

We are the biggest in terms of the size of the exhibition. Wherever we go, it is the biggest in any city with the largest number of designers participating. Our biggest exhibitions feature 350+ stalls. We have 5 lakh followers on our social media pages.

The growth curve
Hi Life grew from strength to strength widening its portfolio based on the constantly shifting scales of market. Dominic says, “Understanding the market demands, we started a more specialised exhibition like Design Library which exclusively deals with high-end fashion. Then, we realised there was the pre-wedding season and that needed to have a wedding show and started Hi Life Brides. This features real jewellery and the latest wedding collections like bridal designer wear to accessories, everything a bride-to-be would need. We also found that there were many customers looking for only pure jewellery and started Hi Life Jewels to cater to them. This is the largest exhibition of the real diamond and gems jewellery. We started these and were very successful.

“We also discovered that there were many designers who were looking for a platform to showcase their work to international and NRI markets, especially in regions dominated by Indians. We have successfully completed a B2B exhibition in Mauritius under the vertical Hi Life Trade Shows. We took the right selection of vendors and dealers. It was a meet-and-greet too and we are now planning to expand this to UK and New York.

We have also taken many exhibitions overseas, we have had a presence in Sri Lanka for the past 12 years besides making inroads into Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand, South Africa and Doha.”