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 Best Emerging Retailer - North

Micro Solutions, Ludhiana

An HP World Partner, Ludhiana-based Micro Solutions recorded a turnover of Rs 4 crore in FY 2007-08 with nearly 70 percent coming from the retail business and the remaining coming from corporate reselling and post-warranty maintenance services.
“The key factor for our growth last year was the increase in the sales of mobile computing and digital lifestyle products and accessories. We clocked average sales of 70 notebooks and 20 desktops per month. We focus only on the Pavilion range, and as a result have managed an average sale price of Rs 40,000-plus for notebooks,” said Pravin Dua, CEO, Micro Solutions.
Located in the city center, the exclusive HP retail store also sells digital lifestyle products such as digital cameras, MP3 gadgets and related accessories. The company is also a premium retail partner of APC and Microsoft.
Micro Solutions generates a significant amount of business through

Performance Highlights

With one HP exclusive store, retail contributed 70 percent to total revenue Clocked an average monthly sale of 70 notebooks and 20 desktops  Generated significant business through employee purchase schemes and school campaigns  Plans to open two multi-brand stores in cities other than Ludhiana

Company Snapshot

Company: Micro Solutions CEO: Parveen Dua Year of Inception: 1997 Turnover 2007-08: Rs 4 crore Turnover 2006-07: Rs 2.65 crore Employees: 9 Certified employees: 2 Principals: Netgear, HP, Lenovo, D-Link, EMC, IBM, Sony

employee purchase schemes, school campaigns and customer referrals. “We did a campaign where we set up a PC with a digital camera and a printer, and invited students to click their own photos and give themselves a wacky look using the software. The student who gave the wackiest look to his/her photo got a prize. Such campaigns are effective in getting students interested in technology, and this eventually rubs off on sales,” noted Dua.
The company has implemented a locally-developed CRM system which has helped it to get repeat business. “It’s a basic system which helps us to keep track of which customer is buying what and when. It also has a feature that reminds us of the birthdays and anniversaries of our long-time customers…on these days we send them gifts like cakes and biscuits,” informed Dua.
Last year Micro Solutions turned its  attention to corporate reselling and providing SMB solutions. “There is a lot of talk about LFRs eating up small retailers like us, so even though I am bullish about retail, I decided to enter solutions as it’s not advisable to put all your eggs in one basket. We, therefore, began selling D-Link, Netgear, IBM and EMC, and this year we intend to further strengthen our solutions business,” Dua explained.
On the retail front, Micro Solutions is close to opening a Lenovo exclusive outlet on the outskirts of Ludhiana. There are also plans to have a couple of multi-brand stores in other cities of Punjab. The company is eyeing a turnover of Rs 8 crore during the current financial year.

 Best Emerging Retailer - East

Astric Computers, Patna

With a turnover of Rs 13.5 crore in 2007-08, Patna-based Astric Computers saw a modest growth of 17 percent over the previous year’s topline of Rs 11.9 crore.

Performance Highlights

Opened a 3,000 sq ft multi-brand CDIT showroom in Patna  Added Lenovo, Acer, Netgear and D-Link to its portfolio  Organized two large consumer promotions which contributed 40 percent of the retail revenue. The Deputy CM and IT minister of Bihar did the lucky draw  Plans to open three 1,000 sq ft multi-brand stores in cities other than Patna

Company Snapshot

Company: Astric Computers CEO: Pravin Kumar Year of Inception: 1992 Turnover 2007-08: Rs 13.50 crore Turnover 2006-07: Rs 11.9 crore Employees: 48 Certified employees: 8 Principals: D-Link, HP, Microsoft, Epson, TVSE, Netgear, Lenovo, Acer

Retail business contributed over 50 percent of the company’s turnover, while 20 percent came from sub-distribution and the rest from post-sales support services.
The main growth contributor for the company last year was the opening of its 3,000 sq ft multi-brand digital lifestyle showroom in the heart of Patna. This showroom sells everything from PCs to mobile phones, digicams to accessories. The new showroom is in addition to the 900 sq ft HP exclusive outlet which Astric has been running for over five years. The company has also added Acer and Lenovo to its PC portfolio, and Netgear and D-Link to its home networking solutions.
Summarizing the growth factors, Praveen Kumar, Director, Astric Computers said, “Retail has been the biggest growth contributor for the business. Within retail, it’s been mobile computing devices that have brought tremendous growth for us, contributing nearly 35 percent to our overall revenue.”
Astric is a pan-Bihar ASP for Epson products, the HP commercial and consumer range of PC and servers, and TVSE.
During the last fiscal, Astric executed two large consumer promotions that brought in nearly 40 percent of its entire retail revenue. “The schemes were done on a scale that is only done by large-format retailers. We had the deputy CM and IT minister of Bihar doing the lucky dip, and the biggest prize included a bike. These two schemes enabled us to create a lot of buzz around our new store and steeply push up sales,” recalled Kumar.
Astric has developed a successful loyalty program wherein customers get reward points even for a purchase as small as a pen drive. “These reward points can be used to claim a discount on the very next purchase. This contributes to a large repeat customer base,” Kumar explained.
On the back of the growing home and SOHO demand in the state, Astric plans to open three 1,000 sq ft multi-brand outlets in other cities.
“We have set an aggressive growth target for ourselves. Next year we plan to achieve Rs 23 crore in turnover. We are in the process of launching a major promotional campaign to tap educational institutes, and government and private sector employees for the purchase of PCs and peripherals. We also want to sell more high-end products as we believe that customers have matured into buying the latest technology,” Kumar added.

 Best Emerging Retailer - South

Kolla Innovative Infotech, Vishakhapatnam

Vishakhapatnam-based Kolla Innovative recorded nearly 20 percent growth in FY 2007-08 as its revenues climbed to Rs 13 crore from the previous year’s Rs 11 crore.

Performance Highlights

Earned 50 percent revenue from its three stores in Vishakhapatnam and one in Rajahmundry  The Rajahmundry store was expanded and renovated to include wider range of products  Added Sony, Apple and Dell to its retail kitty  Bagged an order to supply 800 PCs to Andhra University

Company Snapshot

Company: Kolla Innovative Infotech CEO: K V Suresh Kumar Year of Inception: 1990 Turnover 2007-08: Rs 13 crore Turnover 2006-07: Rs 11 crore Employees: 21 Principals: D-Link, IBM, Apple, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell

With three retail stores in Vishakhapatnam and one in Rajahmundry, the company earned over 50 percent of its revenues from the retail business. The remaining came from corporate reselling and its ASP business. 
In Vishakhapatnam, Kolla operates an HP store, Lenovo store and a multi-brand store selling Dell and Sony, with an Apple shop-in-shop. Its multi-brand store in Rajahmundry was expanded and renovated last year to include a wider product line. 
The company added Sony, Apple and Dell products to its retail kitty last year.
“Over the last couple of years we have made a transition from corporate reselling to retail, and that has worked well for us. We presently sell around 200 units of consumer PCs per month, with nearly 70 percent of them being notebooks,” said K V Suresh Kumar, CEO, Kolla Innovative Infotech.
On the commercial side of the business, the company bagged an order to supply 800 PCs to Andhra University.
“Bagging the order has given us the confidence to execute large projects in the education sector,” said Kumar, who credits the company’s CRM practices for its success in the retail segment. “The best marketing in our business is word-of-mouth, so it’s important that you continue to service your customers even after the transaction is over. While we are not an ASP for any consumer brand we deal in, our endeavor is to make the warranty process completely hassle-free for customers. Most customers bring the in-warranty products to us, and we co-ordinate the service with the ASP on their behalf.”
Kolla ran some innovative schemes for its Rajahmundry store. “Earlier, the store did 5-8 units a month. We then ran a discount-cum-rewards point program at the store which pushed monthly sales to 30 units,” Kumar informed.
He expects to post a turnover of 30 percent in the current fiscal. “While we are not looking at adding new stores this year, we intend to do more business per store. Our focus will be on adding lifestyle products like digicams and high-end accessories. We also want to pull in high-profile customers as this will boost profitability.”