Diwali fails to light up business

Sales in Diwali 2002 failed to live up to expectations.

Market reports indicate that sales were flat during Diwali, while partners hope

that the sales would pick up in December and JFM03 would be a better quarter.

Traditionally, Diwali sales are reported to be above average. However, there was

no marked increase in the sales this Diwali. Even during Dushera partners

experienced flat sales. Though comparatively, business was slightly better

during Dushera than Diwali, say some partners. For the last few quarters,

partners are not sure in which direction sales are headed–northwards or

southwards! They have only one hope and it is that the festival season would

give the much needed boost to business. "Hardware buying trend is generally

at its peak during Diwali as buyers consider this season to be auspicious for

investment," says Anil Kumar Gupta, GM, Bangalore-based

Lampo Computers. However, irregular supply and heavy price fluctuations in some

hardware components and peripherals left traders uncertain about the festival

season. According to the channel, recent price fluctuations in HDD and memory

prices have led customers to postpone their buying decisions. Besides, the

launch of a whole new lot of PC brands at varying prices in the market have

created confusion in the minds of buyers. The recent launches were from big

vendors like LG, Samsung, Via and eSys. "The customer is confused and is

therefore not buying. This wait-and-watch mentality is hitting sales even during

festive season," says a partner. Partners in Delhi have reported

significantly lower sales. "Sales were not as good as compared to last

year. They were lower by as much as 20 percent," says A Singh, MD,

ComputerLand.

However, partners in Mumbai and Bangalore did not report

negative growth during this period. "Sales were not all that bad, but it

was not as per our expectations either," says Hemakshi of Mumbai-based

Integrated Technologies. Another Mumbai-based dealer, A-Plus Computers, reported

a 10 percent growth during Diwali. "This could have been better," says

Mehul of A-Plus Computers. Similar views were echoed by Dynacons Systems and

Solutions, Computer Corner, Arihant Computers and some other dealers in Mumbai.

The festive season is not over yet. And partners are still optimistic about

salesin the OND quarter. Harsha Raman, Director - Marketing of Bangalore-based

Binary Systems says, "We generally record positive growth during the Diwali

season largely due to religious sentiments. We are expecting a growth of about

10 percent in unit terms in this quarter." Harish Kumar, Director of

Bangalore’s Connoisseur Electronics feels sales will improve during the OND

quarter and catch up in JFM03. "The signs of growth are already clear and

we are targeting a 15 percent growth during this season," he adds.

NELSON JOHNY



With inputs from SUNILA PAUL in Bangalore and MOHIT CHHABRA in New Delhi.