Caltron : Consolidating Its Channel

The company has been focusing on building a concrete channel strategy and
consolidating its existing bases with branch expansions. With a focus on
spreading its wings in the East, Caltron has registered an 18 percent increase
in its topline in FY'2008-09. It was affected by the slowdown, but maintained a
decent balance sheet owing to the steadfast move it took in its branch
expansions.

Taking its loyalty to HP printers a step further, the company is now keen on
consolidating its channel base in Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Re-emerging from the blues of fiscal 2005-06 and reinventing itself in the
process, the company has been focusing on building a concrete channel strategy
and consolidating its existing bases with branch expansions.

This explains its decision to spread its presence in as many cities as
possible in the East. It started its operations in Guwahati which helped it grab
a substantial marketshare in the Northeast and the company has already started
its operations in Siliguri catering to the market in North Bengal.

This fiscal year, Caltron expanded its branches to grab the Orissa market.
This is perhaps the only market featuring a positive growth in current times.

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SILVER CLUB RANK (2007-08): 18
PROFILE
CEO: PL Suhasaria Start-up year: 1996 Employees: 125 Collaborations: HP, Compaq, Lenovo, Seagate, Intel, Samsung, LG, Kodak, Microsoft, Fuji Address: Caltron House, 65 Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Kolkata - 700013 Tel: 22157069/3915/0527
HIGHLIGHTS Started regional distribution of Belkin and Samsung Started exclusive distribution in Orissa for Dell Vostro laptops

The company even has plans to consolidate its distribution business and
establish itself as an RD, rather than just a sub-distributor with a view that
sub-distribution business is no longer lucrative. To strengthen its position as
a leading regional distributor, Caltron tied-up with Belkin as its eastern
distributor and signed an exclusive deal with Dell for its range of Vostro
laptops in Orissa.

The company has also introduced its own brand Poweron and is planning to
promote it further. It is targeting a 40 percent growth in the current fiscal.