Wellwin goes slow in IT business

Wellwin Industry, a distributor well networked in south India, is presently going rather slow in its business. This in turn has sent speculations and
created anxiety in the market that whether Wellwin is on the exit route of IT business. However, high-level sources in the company confirmed that this
is a temporary phase and Wellwin would be back in business in full strength and
force, very shortly. 

Scotching the rumors, S Sampath Kumar, GM, Wellwin Industry, said, "As we are in the process of restructuring our business
we have some issues which will be sorted out soon and we will be back on the track shortly."
Recently, Wellwin had decided to keep low stocks and maintain a low profile in the business as it had a cash-flow problem. Meanwhile, the pending
payments and handling of stocks have pushed a couple of vendors to supply products directly to the resellers and according to sources, Wellwin has
also agreed to it considering the situation. However, the company has confirmed to its vendors that this is just a stop-gap arrangement and soon
they will get into the business as before.

"Actually, we spoke to Wellwin and reached an agreement on this. I hope the present crisis for them will end shortly and they
have given assurance that they will resume business with us from June. Otherwise, we do not have any
problem with the company," said an official of a leading vendor. 

Wellwin Industry was started in 1995 as a manufacturer of instrumentation products. In 1998, the company got into IT
distribution business and today, it handles many leading brands such as Mercury, Seagate, LG, Canon,
Celetron, Dax and TVSE. The company registered a turnover of Rs 80 crore from its IT business in the last fiscal (October-September). And in
the first-half of the current year (October to March), it has achieved a topline
of Rs 45 crore.

Elaborated Kumar, "We are going healthy in business and the present crisis is due to diversification of funds in our other
business activity. Wellwin has recently got into manufacturing of electricity meters and we had to make
some major investments there to meet a few orders. There is some payment pending which has pushed this crisis." 

At the same time, Wellwin is contemplating on manufacturing memory modules considering its strength in manufacturing
business. "We are looking for products which could earn better bottomline in business," he disclosed.
Meanwhile, dealers don't seem to be having any problem with Wellwin, which reaches out to more than 400 channel partners across the south
region. Said Sunil Kankaria, Director, Kankaria Computer Links, "According to our
understanding, Wellwin is re-organizing its business focus and it is also facing some cash-flow problems. However, we do not find any issue with them
and till date, we have had a good relationship with the company." 

Added Kumarpal Jain, Director, Devraj Computers (P) Ltd, "I am sure that it is a rumor that Wellwin will close down. They
are a professional company and  they will come up in the distribution business. However, the present crisis
is a temporary one which should not be considered seriously." 

R Kumar, Director, Universal Microsystems, also had similar views. "Wellwin
is still supplying a few product lines although they handle in low volumes. We have not had any problem with them in the business." 

S GOPIKRISHNA

CHENNAI  (CNS)