Consumable shortage hits Nehru Place

Severe shortage in printer consumables of Canon and Epson has hit Nehru Place in the recent times affecting the business adversely for over a month now. Stocks of consumables seem to have been flushed out of the marketplace and resellers have come to bear the brunt for no fault of theirs. 

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a reseller pointed out, "Allan Grant, CMD, Canon, was here in the market nearly a month ago and assured us of immediate correction of the shortage situation, but nothing has happened to date." Resellers fear that consumers will opt for cheaper alternatives, if the shortage is not taken care of immediately.

"Resellers focussed on hardware do not feel the pinch that consumable resellers do," says Dinesh Chopra, Director, Softek Surya, "The current shortage is so severe that it has the potential to kill business of resellers focussed on consumables."

But Tarun Thadani, Country Manager, Canon has a different viewpoint. Says he, "There is no shortage. Allan Grant was there to assess the market, and did not make any commitment to correct the situation." Commitment or no commitment, dealers say that the shortage is very much there and needs to be taken care of at the earliest. 

The slide of the Indian rupee has made imports dearer. This development has given the parallel gray market a push in its operations. Genuine consumables are in short supply. Epson admits to this and says Monica Bajaj, Executive (Marketing), "To ensure as little inconvenience as possible to our end-customers, we have started billing directly at our three warehouses in Delhi."

To avoid shortages from a long-term point of view, Epson is looking at widening its channel base. The company is talking to stationery chain stores to have consumables occupy their shelf space. The next two months will see 50 to 60 outlets being added under this initiative.

Canon is in the process of appointing direct dealers for consumables. It is expected to announce its policies for the consumable channel sometime by the middle of next month. Three dealers in Delhi and one in Chennai are already in place.

Mediaman to manufacture memory products in India

BOBBY ANTHONY



MUMBAI

Mediaman has plans to tie up with a Hong Kong-based company to manufacture memory chips in India, investing more than Rs 25 crore, says Dushyant Mehta, Chairman and CEO of Mediaman Infotech Pvt Ltd. The shareholding pattern of the export-oriented unit to be set up in the second half of this year would be 50:50.

Distribution of memory products has a reputation of being extremely risky. 

It is a well-known fact that almost 80 to 90 per cent of the memory trade is controlled by gray market operators who sell smuggled goods. Despite these factors, Mediaman continues to thrive. 

Clearly, the company no longer wants to remain a mere distributor. It foresees tremendous increase in demand for all types of memory products. It may be recalled that a Bangalore-based company called Microd had attempted to manufacture memory products with limited success.

That is not all. Mediaman is also toying with the idea of another joint venture with Bravish, to manufacture its products in India. This project would be implemented by the end of this year. 

Mediaman already distributes Bravish products in India. Bravish is a European manufacturer which is known for its stylish products be it PCs, foldable keyboards and fluorescent mice. These are priced at 25 to 50 per cent more than the regular products sold in India. 

In a related development, Mediaman has also begun distributing Bravish flash memories. Bravish's high-end memories are found on several MNC branded PCs and servers. Presently efforts are on to consolidate Mediaman's presence in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune. Mediaman plans to launch Bravish products in these cities and is in talks with the respective local channels. 

Nebula Technologies plans to venture into the PC market

Sunila Paul



CHENNAI

Nebula Technologies, a market leader in the distribution of building blocks of computers in India plans to enter the home PC market with QMAX by the third quarter. 

'QMAX', which spells out 'quality maximum' will be targeting the SOHO and the corporate segments. "QMAX' would meet the standards of other branded PCs like in the market in terms of functionality and performance," says V. Sakthivel, Business Manager, Nebula Technologies. Channel partners will be roped in the southern region to promote the company's range of products. 

QMAX is assembled at the company's manufacturing unit at Pondicherry. Nebula claims to offer a branded PC at an unbranded price along with a three-year warranty. The company targets a sale of 1000 units of QMAX PCs per month. 

Nebula Technologies has made giant strides during the last two years by developing a branch network in all metros. It has also developed a network of representatives in peripheral areas that serve the needs of smaller cities in India.