Kannur: In a Dwindling State

Also known as Cannanore, Kannur is a beautiful city in the state of Kerala. The 6th largest city in the state, after Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Kollam, Kannur is the largest city of the North Malabar region. The city is also known as the land of looms and lores, because of the loom industries operating in the district and ritualistic folk arts held in temples. A majority of the population of the city is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The city is blessed with a variety of factors such as good soil, climate, rich forests, huge fishing potentials, minerals as well as infrastructural facilities. The district offers abundant scope for the development of industries.

Talking about the IT market of the city, dealers claim that the past few months saw a decline in sales. Sukesh TP, owner, Emerge Digitech said, "The business was not so good last month. Diwali and other festivals also did not aid in increasing sales." Suresh further added, "However, last to last month the sales were up to the mark, owing to Onam." Talking about the growth vertical in the city, the dealers were of the opinion that the consumer segment contributes the most to the city's economy, and is the primary growth vertical of Kannur.

While laptop sells the most among the products; Toshiba, Acer and Dell are the top selling brands in the city. Sukesh said, "Toshiba, Acer and Dell sell the most in the region. However, during Onam, HP did a great business as it offered free cameras with its laptops." The city churns out approximate revenue of Rs 5-6 crore on an annual basis, functioning with 80-100 active dealers in the city. The local IT association of Kannur- All Kerala IT Dealers Association (AKITDA) is very active in the region. It is regular in its day to day activities and hold great trust among the partners. While predicting the future market situation of Kannur, Sukesh said, "Market situation is very bad. There should be some flow in the market for me to predict the scenario. We have some stocks pending with us and are hoping the market to recover soon."

Interview: Sukesh TP, owner, Emerge Digitech

Which is the most contributing sector of Kannur?

Consumer segment contributes the most.

What are the top-selling IT brands in the city?

Toshiba, Acer, and Dell.

Do you face any problem with your vendors?

Replacement issues are there, but we are trying to solve them slowly.