Government should support the channel community: Karur

Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of River Amaravathi, it has been ruled, at different times, by the Chera, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Hyder Ali, Carnatic kingdom, and the British. The city is well known for hand loom, power loom textile products, paper and bus body works industries.

Computer Hardware and Networking located at the heart of Karur city. Because, the main native industry are Home Furnishing Textile, Bus Body Building, Jewelers Shops, Number of Schools and Colleges, etc. Karur has important government educational institutes, colleges and schools. Karur is a part of Karur constituency and elects its member of legislative assembly every five years, and a part of the Karur constituency that elects its member of parliament.

The top selling products and brands in the city include Epson printers, Samsung desktop and Canon printers. Smartphones, tablets, laptops and PC’s are the products which have done the maximum sale. “Sales growth has slowed over the past months as online business growing day by day,” informed J. GANGADHARAN of Sri Kanniga Computers. “

“Market is not performing well over the past 1 year and business is getting affected due to digitalization and online business is growing consistently and e-commerce is still a major issue for Karur IT market,” informed T. KANAGARAJ of Iknox Netsolutions.

Talking about the IT association of Karur, KITA ( Karur IT Association) is one of the best computer hardware, networking and software based IT association. This association was registered on April 14, 2009 in the name of Karur Information Technology Association. “The association often conducts meetings and events for its members. Our association is always active in taking steps for its members and it holds regular meetings. In members meet relevant topics are discussed and we are all satisfied with the working of the association. We do not have any major complaints to highlight," commented T. KANAGARAJ, vice president, KITA.

When asked about the vendor-dealer relationship, J. GANGADHARAN stated, "The vendor-dealer relationship is fine in Karur and we do not face any problem while dealing with them. But on the other hand T. KANAGARAJ said, "We only have one major problem with vendors that they are giving different prices to offline and online retailers. We want government to look into e-commerce issue and support our community. Government must take steps to control the growth of online sales. We are trying to learn new technologies to enhance our business as digitalization is taking place everywhere but there should be some support from the government. There is no price transparency in business now and that is why we are not able to grow in the market.

"The IT market will do well in future also and it will have a safe future. The world will see a new phase of IT market and atleast it will grow by 50% in the coming times. The future looks green, " says J. GANGADHARAN.

Interview 1:

T. KANAGARAJ of Iknox Netsolutions

What are the top-selling brands in your city?

Epson, Lenovo, HP and Canon

How is the market performing in the last 6 months?

The IT market has been facing tough time and it is lowered since last 1 year

How active is the association?

KITA ( Karur IT Association) is very active for the channel partners. They conduct regular get togethers and internal communications.

What are the primary business verticals in Karur ?

Education, SOHO, SME

Interview 2:

J. Gangadharan, CEO, Sri Kanniga Computers

J. GANGADHARAN of Sri Kanniga Computers

Do you face any issues with the vendors or customers?

No, we don’t face any major problems with vendors or customers.

Is e-commerce a threat for Karur?

Yes, it is becoming a threat for us. We are facing a major crisis due to increase in online sales.

What are your market predictions?

I think we will do well in the near future. There is always scope for improvisation, but the more prepared you are, the better equipped you will be to seize opportunities as they.

Market Name: Karur

Market Location: Tamil Nadu

Surrounding Markets: Chennai, Erode, Salem, Trichy

Computer Association: Karur IT Association (KITA)

Prominent Dealers: Sri Kanniga Computers, Iknox Netsolutions, Apple Systems, Novel Systems

Business Verticals: SOHO and Education

Number of Active Dealers: 80