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Rajesh Gupta
President,
Amravati Computer Dealers Association (ACDA)
How big is the Amravati IT market?
We have roughly 100 active resellers in the city selling on an average 500 PCs per month. The IT market has been growing at a CAGR of 15 percent for last three years. During the last few months we have seen some slow down.
What are the drivers for IT growth?
Home and education. These segments together account for 80 percent of the total IT products sold in the city, while the government contributes the remaining. Amravati has emerged as a major education hub with seven engineering colleges, a couple of management institutes, and a medical college. Nearly 70 percent of the students who come to study engineering here come from outside and from rich backgrounds. They contribute to the sales of notebooks and digital gadgets in the city. Additionally, all the seven engineering colleges have state-of-the-art computer labs which are upgraded every two years.
What are the buying trends?
The biggest trend, we have witnessed, is the transition from desktops to notebooks. Only last year, the desktop:laptop ratio was around 80:20, but in just one year it has become almost equal. Affordability and the need for mobility among students and professionals are driving this transition. All the engineering colleges have Wi-Fi installed on their campuses.
What are the key challenges facing resellers?
The biggest problem is timely payment. Customers delay their payments and so do resellers. There is no discipline when it comes to paying on time. Fortunately, post-sales support has improved in the city over the past six months with the advent of Dell in the market. Dell’s onsite support policy for consumer products has compelled other PC vendors to also provide an onsite warranty.
What are the activities of your association?
We have a very active channel association called ACDA. It has 55 members on its rolls. Earlier this year, ACDA unanimously banned Lenovo for not paying the sponsorship money it had committed to for our annual IT exhibition. Members boycotted Lenovo’s business for months till the payment was made and an apology tendered. This year we have plans to focus on training our members. |