Bad market situation has left Lucknow association non-operational

In a yet another case of inactivity, members of Lucknow Computer Vyapar Mandal (LCVM) have failed to organize itself under the association as it has completely shunned its activity past 7 months.

Our prime importance is to conduct our business and then look into ancillary things, says Praveen Khanna, secretary, LCVM. He says, "Now-a-days most of the dealers have kept low morale, probably due to the economic slump and change in consumer's behavior. Also, infiltration has increased in the market and we are unable to compete with those cheap products."

Many partners are thinking to switch over to a different business as it is difficult to survive, mentions Khanna. He adds, "The overall weak sentiments have led our members uninterested for the association."

Khanna elaborates on the changing scenario of the business citing the change in consumer behaviour, viz., from desktops and laptops to smart phone and tablets. He says that the value of tablets and smart phone does not contribute enough to their requirements.

He adds, "If we sell a smart phone, we hardly earn Rs 300 as profit. But in laptops, the margin used to be high and there used to following upgrades, which used to sustain our business. Now, there is no up gradation of these new form factor compact devices."

Last week, The DQ Week spoke to the Kanpur association and learnt that it has been inactive from the last few years.

The Samajwadi Party's flagship program to distribute free laptops to students has also impacted the business. Khanna asks, "Our major growth drivers were the student segment. If they know that they will get the product in free, why should they invest?"