HouseHold Expo Moscow, March 2027: is it worth it for Indian home and crafts manufacturers?

Yes, if you manufacture home textiles, tableware, kitchenware or decor and you can supply a retail chain. HouseHold Expo is where Russian chains and marketplaces come to source. 273 chains visited in 2024, and more than 30% of visitors are category and purchasing managers.

It's a weaker fit for a workshop that ships 50 pieces at a time, or for a fashion label.

Expo Connexion represents HouseHold Expo exclusively in India, and I walked the show myself. The spring edition runs 16 to 18 March 2027 at Crocus Expo, Moscow, in Pavilion 2. Here is what we tell manufacturers who ask us if the trip is worth it.

What is HouseHold Expo?

It's Russia's trade show for housewares, home textiles, tableware, kitchen and home decor. It runs twice a year, in spring and autumn, at Crocus Expo in Moscow.

5 shows share the floor: HouseHold Expo, Stylish Home, Outdoor, HouseTech Expo and ZooExpoPlace.

For Indian makers, 2 of them matter. HouseHold Expo covers tableware, kitchen and home textiles. Stylish Home covers interiors, decor, gifts, carpets and ethnic interiors. Outdoor furniture, appliances and pet products are there too, but that's rarely what India sells.

What is it like on the floor?

Well planned. The show is sectorized by product, so a buyer looking for tableware or textiles goes straight to the right area. That matters on a floor this size.

Footfall was good through the days I walked it. And on the last day, the faces were happy. That's the day I watch at any show. By then exhibitors know if the week worked.

How big is it?

In 2024, spring and autumn together: 1,824 exhibitors, 32,160 visitors, 58,550 sqm and 26 countries.

It's also growing fast. 570 exhibitors in 2022, 1,450 in 2023, 1,824 in 2024. More than 3 times in 2 years.

For scale, Who's Next in Paris has around 1,100 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors in a single edition. Per edition, HouseHold Expo is smaller, and its visitors buy for chains and marketplaces.

Who are the buyers?

94% of visitors are trade. About 60% are business owners, senior managers and marketplace sellers. More than 30% are category and purchasing managers of retail chains.

The regular visitors read like the Russian high street:

• Marketplaces: Ozon, Wildberries, Yandex Market, Megamarket.
• DIY: Leroy Merlin (now Lemana PRO), OBI, Castorama (Maxidom), Petrovich.
• Home and furniture: Hoff, Cozy Home, Askona, Posuda Center, Cook House, Williams et Oliver.
• Food retail and hypermarkets: Auchan, Metro, X5 Retail Group, Magnit, Lenta, Globus.
• Discount: Fix Price, Galamart, Svetofor.
• Central Asia: Kaspi from Kazakhstan, Uzum from Uzbekistan.

55% of visitors come for the first time each edition, from 89 regions of Russia and more than 25 countries. So the audience renews itself.

In Paris, a manufacturer meets a brand that orders 300 pieces. In Moscow, you meet the person who decides what goes on a chain's shelf, and the marketplace seller who reorders every month.

What can Indian manufacturers sell there?

The organiser asks visitors what they come for. Housewares come first, then home decor, tableware and kitchen accessories, kitchen utensils, interior textiles, and New Year gifts and decorations.

That list matches what Indian clusters already make for export:

• Table linen and kitchen textiles: block prints from Jaipur, towels, aprons and oven mitts from Karur and Panipat.
• Cushions, throws and bed linen: Panipat, Karur.
• Rugs and dhurries: Bhadohi, Panipat, Jaipur. Carpets have their own place in Stylish Home.
• Brass, copper and steel serveware: Moradabad.
• Wooden kitchenware and decor: Saharanpur, Jodhpur.
• Stoneware and ceramics: Khurja.
• New Year decorations and gifts: papier-mâché from Kashmir, embroidered and beaded ornaments from Delhi NCR.

New Year is the biggest gifting moment of the Russian year. A March show is early enough to talk about December.

Who should go, and who should wait?

Go if most of this describes you:

• You manufacture, with the capacity for chain volumes and repeat orders.
• You're open to private label. 60% of participants sign supply and private label contracts.
• You have an export price list and clear minimum order quantities.
• You can certify your category for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAC) and label in Russian.
• You can be patient. A chain listing takes more than one meeting.

Wait, or choose another show, if:

• You make 50-piece runs. A marketplace seller might buy. A chain won't.
• You sell a fashion collection. Interfabric runs the same days in the same venue, and fits better.
• Your prices only work at boutique margins. Russian mass retail, discount chains in particular, buys at a sharp price.

What does it take?

The cost depends on the size of the stand, the stand type and the open sides. Send us your catalogue and the space you have in mind, and we'll come back with a quote.

The standard stand includes walls, carpet, a fascia board with your company name, a table, chairs, spotlights and a power socket. From 12 sqm you also get a lockable storeroom.

Budget for flights, hotel, visa and the shipping of your samples. The organiser asks for a 20% advance within 14 days of the application, otherwise the space can go to another exhibitor.

How do you get paid in Russia?

Through the rupee trade mechanism. Since July 2022 the RBI allows trade with Russia to be settled in rupees, through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts held by Indian banks. Certification works through EAC.

We wrote a full guide on both: how an Indian textile exporter sells to Russia. Read it before you book.

Can you combine it with Interfabric?

Yes. Interfabric, Russia's fabric and textile show, also runs 16 to 18 March 2027 at Crocus Expo. A mill that makes fabric and finished home textiles can cover both buyer groups in one trip.

More on that show: is Interfabric the way into the Russian textile market?

How do you apply?

Send us 4 things and we file the application with the organiser for you:

• Your company presentation or catalogue.
• The type of goods you will show.
• The space you need in sqm, and a standard stand or space only.
• The open sides you want.

Everything about the show is on the HouseHold Expo page. If you're not sure your range fits Russian retail, send us your catalogue and we'll give you a straight answer. You can also book a 30-minute call.