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Kannur, the district headquarter in Kerala, is geographically surrounded by
Kasargod in the North and Kozhikode in the South. The IT market in this region
mainly caters to home and education segments. This year, when the city hosted
the Onam season sales, it was refreshing for channel partners in the region who
anticipated an increase in sales during the festive season.
During Onam, Computer Care had various schemes titled 'bundle offer' that
included printers, UPS, table, along with desktops. The company sold about
400-450 pieces, which were priced between Rs 19,000 and Rs 26,000. “Few
customers, who have desktops, are buying laptops and those who have both are
upgrading to wireless networking at home. We see customers are inclined towards
latest technology,” observed Mansoor Ali Khan, Managing Partner, Computer Care.
Sukesh, CEO, Emerge Digitech, reiterated the same. He said, “Service issues are
major concerns for many partners here.”
| Tiju Joseph, Director, One Zero Infosolutions |
| How has the Kannur market performed in the last quarter? Last quarter's performance was good. For us, the Onam season was very good. It was a mixed reaction in the market during this festive season.
What are the leading brands in Kannur? How do you think the vendors can contribute in the Kannur market? What do you expect from the newly-formed association? |
During Onam, the company sold about 250 desktops and 100 laptops. “The season
was good for us. Our sales were more than expected,” he mentioned.
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Although the sale of desktop is higher than the sale of laptops in this
region, the trend is bound to shift as laptops are now seen as a style statement
for the youth. Many are inclined to buy notebooks which are favorable also
because they cost around Rs 17,000 which is cheaper than the price of laptops.
Brands like Compaq, Acer, Dell, and Lenovo play a key role in the markets at
Kannur.
| Market name: Kannur Location: Kerala Surrounding markets: Payyanur, Taliparambha, Neeleshwar, Kanhangad, Kasargod Number of dealers: More than 100 Market size: 1,500 dektop PCs per month Prominent dealers: Emerge Digitech, One Zero Info Solutions, Computer Care Distributors: Redington, Ingram, Rashi Peripherals Associations: Computer Dealers Association of Trivandrum, All Kerala Computer Manufacturers and Dealers Association Business verticals: Education, home Business trends: Among all other common issues ailing the channel community, the region faces some serious service issues |
A major reason of concern for most channel partners in the region is the
service issue. A few have mentioned that servicing motherboards has especially
become a cause of concern in the area. Two years ago, the city banned Asus due
to serious service-related issues. However, a year ago, Rashi Peripherals
re-introduced Asus with a promise that all pending issues from the past will be
resolved. “There are some service issues which the vendors should look into on
priority basis,” elaborated Khan. “I would not like to reveal the name of the
brand. But a particular product had some major defects and the replacement time
for the same exceeded over two months. In the process, the partner's reputation
gets tarnished in the market when such problems persist,” he mentioned.
Canon, HP and Lenovo have service centers in Kannur.
The partners in the region expect the new association to bring in a system
where the consumers will buy from registered dealers. Many partners have tied
their hopes to the next quarter and expect it to be better than the current
quarter. Most partners are happy about the new e-payment system. It is
convenient, as they are not required to visit the office personally and also it
is easier to keep a track of the records.