Jodhpur: On a Dwindling Path

Jodhpur, also known as Sun City, is one of the most popular tourist destinations of Rajasthan. It is also referred as the 'Blue City' due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort.

The city has a flourishing cottage industry for the manufactures of glass bangles, cutlery, carpets, and marble products. But the handicrafts industry, in recent years, eclipsed all other industries in the city. Jodhpur has also become a major education hub due to presence of various colleges and institutions.

Like other cities, Jodhpur IT market is also registering a slowdown due to a number of reasons. The most apparent ones are hard drive crisis and rupee depreciation. The increase in the number of new players has also impacted the business of already established partners in Jodhpur. Moreover, the demand from handicraft and education sectors has declined, which has ultimately affected the business of channel partners.

"Local market was good till Diwali season, but thereafter it did not show any positive growth. Primarily, Jodhpur has various handicraft exporters, who keep on buying a range of IT products such as printers, PCs, etc, but in recent times the demand has significantly decreased. And when it comes to the education segment, institutions and colleges will start buying products in April-June quarter. But we are hopeful that in coming months, market will soon revive," said Basant Mehta, CEO, Blue Bells Computers and president, Jodhpur Computer Dealers Association. In the midst of all this crisis, partners are hoping to get orders from the government departments, "The inquiries have started to come from the government departments and we are hopeful to get orders from them," said Mehta. "Government departments prefer to buy through DGS&D rate contracts. Since referral orders are least opted by them, the order usually go to the RC holder directly, and there is very little opportunity left for local channel," he added.

Among IT hardware sold in Jodhpur, laptops usually register the highest figures, while desktops command 35-40% of the PC market. Tablets are also becoming favorite among consumers. Dell, HP and Lenovo are the most hot selling brands in the city. There are around 150 dealers in the city, who fetch an annual turnover between Rs 150-200 crore. The city has an active association, Jodhpur Computer Dealers Association (JCDA), which plays a role of catalyst in solving partners' issues. It approaches vendors as and when required.

However, when it comes to the latest technology consumers are very adaptive to them like rack servers, storage, Firewall, i3/i5/i7 based laptops/PCs, giga networking, wireless, IP camera, duplex and network printers, online UPS, etc.

Amidst all this, there are number of issues which have impacted the vendor-partner relationship. Vendors usually need audited balance sheet and proper bank statements to avail billing with channel partners. Thus, most of the partners take the route of RDs. Moreover, DoA policies are not very much clear with most of the vendors.

Besides, there are hardly 2-3 vendors, who have local warehouses in Jodhpur. To let the channel market growing, it is essential to have local warehouses of vendors, who can supply the desired products immediately. "There are various vendors, who do not have their service centers in the city. They supply products from Delhi and Jaipur. Hence, we want them to open up there service centers here," said Sunil Pungalia, CEO, Pungalia Associate & Agency.

There are lots of expectations of partners from vendors that include having good credit period with on-time delivery of material and the availability of service centers. They also want to resolve DoA issue at earliest.

The Jodhpur IT market is slow but steadily growing. The IT requirement is always going to remain in the city and after-sales support is equally required.

Market name: Jodhpur

Market Location: Rajasthan

Surrounding Markets: Jaisalmer, Jaipur

Association: Jodhpur Computer Dealers Association

Business Vertical: Education, retail, manufacturing, government

Number of partners: 150

Prominent Dealers: Blue Bells Computers, Diamond Sales, Frontline Computers, Pungalia Associate & Agency

Interview:

Basant Mehta, CEO, Blue Bells Computers and president, Jodhpur Computer Dealers Association

What are the most selling products and brands in the market?

Most selling products are laptops, all-in-one PCs, printers and surveillance products. The brands available here are Dell, IBM, Lenovo, HP, Apple, Acer, Epson, Wipro, etc.

How many channel partners are there in the market?

There are more than 150 CPs operating in this market. Out of it, 50% are registered with local association, Jodhpur Computer Dealers Association.

What is the annual revenue of the market?

It is around Rs 150 to 200 crore.

Sunil Pungalia, CEO, Pungalia Associate & Agency

Which are most selling brands in Jodhpur IT market?

Lenovo, HP and Dell

Are there any schemes announced by vendors in Jodhpur recently?

Yes, vendors usually keep on introducing schemes from time to time.

What kind of activities are organized by association?

It conducts roadshows and conferences to keep channel partners updated.

Narendra Parihar, CEO, Microcare Professional

How is the market growth?

It is very slow, not growing.

What are the latest buying trends for laptops and desktops?

The buying trend for laptops has increased instead of desktop, which is declining. The assembled PC market has also declined significantly.

What are your future predictions for the market?

Currently, the market is seeing a slowdown, but hopefully it will come back in its form after April.