Karnal: Education sector driving growth

The most important thing about Karnal
is its important geographical location. This agricultural city in the
state of Haryana almost connects the entire North India through its
Delhi-Ambala railway line and the historical GT Road.

The city is also home to a lot of
research institutes, with National Dairy Research Institute being the
most famous one. These research institutes provide a lot of business
opportunities to local computer dealers here. Meanwhile, the overall
size of the market is around 100-125 boxes of PCs and business of
over Rs 15 crore annually. “Courtesy five to six research
institutes in the city, a lot of students and the faculty buy their
laptops and other goods from us,” said Kamal Kant Bhasin, President
of Karnal Dealers Association and CEO of Pranay Computers. The local
association has 34 registered members so far and is also very active
in making sure nothing untoward happens in the community.

Talking about current market trends of
the Karnal IT market, Bhasin pointed out that it has been on the
downside in the last six months, “We are experiencing a 10 percent
decline in sales in the last six months. A lot of this can be
attributed to the overall slowdown in the market.” However despite
all this, there are specific products, which are doing well and the
demand for these is only growing. “Laptop sales have been very
satisfying in the last three months. Especially, the sale of Dell
laptops. Earlier, we used to sell around 100 laptops in a month, now
we sell around 175 pieces. A major reason for this rise is because of
Dell's physical presence in the market. They have appointed
distributors now but previously one could only buy their laptops
online,” said Puneet Chhabra of Karnal based E-Solutions. The
dealers also said that the brands in the laptop segment are all at
par, with HP, Dell and Acer doing the same kind of business. “No
laptop brand has an edge over the other. However, Lenovo as a laptop
brand has taken a hit in the last one year or so. Moreover, people
are educated now and they know what they want,” added Bhasin.

Meanwhile, printer is another popular
segment in the city and partners are witnessing a shift in the buying
trends of local customers. “Sale of inkjet printers have slowed
down considerably and laser printers are the current choice for
customers here. Also, HP as a printer brand has a lot of competition
from other brands like Canon, Xerox and Lexmark. This was not the
case earlier,” said Chhabra. Though a lot of business opportunities
come from the research institutes present in the city, Karnal still
remains a city in which dealers are hugely dependent on the SOHO
segment. “Collectively, we do a business of around Rs 1 crore in
the SOHO segment,” said Bhasin.

Interview

Kamal Kant Bhasin, President, Karnal
Dealer's Association and CEO, Pranay Computers

What are the main business verticals
in the Karnal IT market?

A lot of business opportunities come
from the research institutes present in the city, but we are mainly
dependent on the SOHO segment here. We garner a monthly business of
around Rs 1 crore from the SOHO segment.

What does the future hold for the IT
market here?

At present, it is exam time in schools
and colleges, so sales have been a bit slow. So, I hope after the
examination and new admissions starting in April, sales of PCs would
boost up. Also, the agricultural season coming up will bring
liquidity in the market, which should eventually draw more customers
to the IT market.