Negotiations are underway with domestic hypermarkets to make space for permanent sale of handmade artworks in an effort to boost handcrafts trade, the director general of Handicrafts' Export Office at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization said.
"We are targeting Refah Chain Stores, Shahrvand Department Stores and Iran Hyper Star to cooperate in the program," Pouya Mahmoudian was quoted as saying by ILNA.
This is not the first time such plans are devised and carried out across hypermarkets, but previous projects were only short-term and did not produce the desired result due to deficiencies either in planning or implementation.
"This time will be different," Mahmoudian said, highlighting the fact that "the authorities are trying to make it a win-win situation to be beneficial for both the artisans and the department stores."
"The shortcomings of earlier unsuccessful experiences have been studied and identified to prepare a safe ground for both sides to grow," she added. The highly popular Refah and Shahrvand stores can play a key role in cultivating a strong tie between the world of arts and nationwide marketing. Hyper Star markets, with their vast space, are quite suitable to hold weekly festivals of handicrafts to promote various types of artwork besides their regular retail sales, Mahmoudian noted.
Earlier Measures
The plan is in line with the handicrafts department's efforts to boost the market with the purpose of empowering local communities and preventing rural migration.
Earlier strategies such as temporary shops during the New Year holidays (Norouz) have considerably contributed to the goal.
The temporary gift shops have been established in the country's tourist attractions during Norouz holidays (March 21- April 2) since 2008. Reportedly, this year's markets saw a hike in revenue thanks to more organized plans and the larger number of stalls.
According to the latest figures, the festival of handicrafts held during the past Norouz fetched over 630 billion rials ($15m) registering a 50% increase compared to last year's event which made 420 billion rials ($10m), CHTN reported.
Each of the total 10,660 pavilions earned average revenue of 59 million rials ($1,400). Based on the figures, Hamedan Province earned the highest revenue, equal to 8.2 billion rials ($1.95m), followed by the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.
Gilan was host to the highest number of pavilions (1,008 in total).
The temporary shops not only promote the domestic sale of the handmade artworks, but also boost the industry by fostering the culture of using art products throughout society, highlighting a rather untapped potential, empowering artists, as well as helping identify customers' tastes and demands.
Iran is among the world's top three producers of handicrafts, along with China and India. The country has over 295 fields of handicrafts, each having their own customers and usage. Among the numerous types of handicrafts in Iran, the most well known are felts, tribal rugs, glasswork, pottery, ceramics and tiles, traditional furniture, copper and brass ornaments, woodwork (including mosaic, wood carving and inlaid), enamel work and engravings.
