No Diwali sheen in Gujarat

Gujarati New Year and Diwali did not manage to bring sparkling times for IT traders in western India. Overall, the sales in the region were not up to the expectation of channel partners.

Commenting on the scenario, Kirti Thakkar, former president of Ahmedabad-based ACMA said, "This Diwali the sales were a bit dull in Ahmedabad. Especially, in the last 2-3 weeks before Diwali when the sales are expected to peak, the business moved really slow." He further added, "Post Diwali, the state is to going to have its elections, so all the major projects from government are also on a hold."

Similar sentiment was narrated by Nitesh Gorasia, secretary of Baroda based-BITA, "This year the business was overall really slow. The market did not witness the usual festive season uptrend." He further added, "Even the vendors have had extended holiday this year and we are hoping they will come back more aggressively and provide the right impetus to boost overall business."

In Surat also, the market has been under the pressure as most of the industries were closed during the festive season. Nilessh Desai, president of SITA said, "Business has been low as compared to last year. The market sales have dropped by at least 40% as compared to last year's Diwali sales." He further added, "IT spending this year by companies were not as expected. Usually, the companies go for upgradation, however, due to market scenario there have been lot of expenditure cuts and IT was a part of it. Furthermore, the large format retailers like Croma also impacted the sales of fast moving consumer goods and a significant market sales were taken up by such establishments."

Going ahead, the channel partners in this region are hoping for a good December and an even better January. Thakkar said, "We are hoping that the market will pick up momentum post December 15." Voicing similar opinion, Gorasia said, "The market should see an uptrend by the end of first or second week of December."