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Sanjeev Jalan
CEO,
Computer Shoppe,
Varanasi
How big is the Varanasi IT market?
Although the Varanasi market is small, it is quite a lucrative one. It comprises 70 active resellers who sell around 1,500 PCs per month. Over the last few years, the IT market in Varanasi has seen a growth of around 20 percent. The market has recently witnessed a
slowdown because of the government’s decision to increase VAT.
What are the drivers for IT growth?
The home, education and SMB segments contribute the most to the total IT demand. While 60 percent of the total revenue comes from the home segment, the education and SMB segments contribute almost 20 percent each.
What are the buying trends?
Consumers are currently looking for products that will give them mobility, hence laptops account for around 50 percent of the total demand. We have seen demand for laptops not only from home users but also from education institutes and the SMB segment. There has also been a rise in the demand for networking
products.
What are the key challenges facing resellers?
The major problem, we are facing, is inadequate post-sales support. Although most vendors have their service centers in the city, it takes more than a month for a defective product to get fixed or replaced. Most of the time parts are not available. Often we have to go to other cities to get the product fixed. All vendors should have their own service centers in the city, and should also have a shorter turnaround time for the replacement of products. They should provide us with training, as well as pricing information about their products.
What are the activities organized by your association?
The city has a 10-year-old association called the Eastern UP IT Dealers Association. Earlier, the association used to organize seminars, training programs and fairs. However, since the past one year, it hasn’t been that active. The association should start taking more initiatives to help partners. If the association was still active it would have helped us during our protest against the increase in VAT. |