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Durgapur: Marred by price hike

The IT market in Durgapur has also seen many developments in the recent past. However, the current market situation is not very sunny

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DQW Bureau
New Update

Situated on the banks of river Damodar, Durgapur is by far, the most industrialized city in the state of West Bengal. Owing to the presence of two key steel plants Durgapur Steel Plant and Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur is commonly known as the steel city. Durgapur is slowly growing to become one of the mega cities of the region. Since the past few years, the city has been witnessing radical changes, with rapid development in different segments like real estate, education and information technology.

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The IT market in Durgapur has also seen many developments in the recent past. However, the current market situation is not very sunny. According to Sandipan Shaw of Electronic World, the market is not doing a great business at the moment and sales have gone down, as hard disk prices have gone up. Ritesh Kedia of Matrix also said in concurrence, "Market scenario is very bad at the moment. There is a slump in the market. Prices of the components have doubled up. This is one of the major reasons for the sales to dip in the region."

Partners in the city claim that all sectors are equal contributors to the city's economy when it comes to naming the highest growth vertical of the city. However, retail segment does have an edge over others. Talking about the most sought-after brands and products in the region, Shaw said, "Dell is the most sought-after brand in Durgapur and laptop is the top selling product." Sharing similar statistics, Kedia said, "HP, Dell, and Lenovo are the top 3 laptop brands in Durgapur, doing maximum business. While Lenovo and HP are the preferred brands for assembled PCs."

Talking about the vendor-dealer relationship, Shaw said, "The only issue which I face with my vendors are service issues. Other than that, my dealings are clear with my vendors." Kedia said, "I do not face any problem with my vendors as I deal in cash and I do not have any payment pending with them. Also, I deal with the top vendors of the region and have clear records with them."

While predicting the future market scenario of Durgapur, both Shaw and Kedia were of the view that the market situation will remain down for the coming 2 months as well. "Market will remain down till January or February, 2012 as the component prices have gone up."

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Market Name: Durgapur

Market Location: West Bengal

Surrounding Markets: Kolkata, Siliguri, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad

Computer Association: Durgapur Computer Dealers Association (DCDA)

Prominent Dealers: Pinnacle Infotech, Electronic World, Matrix, MR Enterprises, The Computer Bazaar

Business Verticals: Retail

Interview:

Ritesh Kedia of Matrix

What are the top selling products and brands in your city?

HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops; and Lenovo and HP assembled PCs sell the most.

Do you have any computer association in Durgapur? How active is it in solving your problems?

Yes, Durgapur Computers Dealers Association (DCDA). It is very slow and inactive in the region. Some sections of the society are willing to revive it while some doesn't want to. Of course we would like to have an active association functioning at the local level.

What are your market predictions for this year?

Due to the price hike in components and also because of the holiday season, the market will remain dull, at least till the end of January 2012.

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