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Shimla, popularly known as Queen of the Hill Stations, is a popular tourist
destination. For the IT channel partners in the region, there are a number of
opportunities in the form of government offices, limited companies and the apple
orchards. “The size of the market is approximately 20 percent as compared to the
Delhi market,” informed Ashwani Kumar of Ace Infotech Systems, with more and
more partners coming from outside to set up their businesses in the capital city
of Himachal Pradesh.
One of the major trends in the region is that of retail. “Retail is huge.
This year, with pay scale of government being revised we are hopeful of seeing
good sales,” claimed Satnam Singh of Access Marketing.
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Shimla is also known for its apple orchards. And while Kumar pointed out that
this is a big business opportunity for them it is only seasonal, with August to
October being the peak season.
The Shimla IT market is fairly small with a handful of local IT dealers.
However, in the recent past there has been an increasing number of dealers
setting up their businesses here, to tap the potential. This has not gone down
very well with the local channel which plans to take up the issue.
Shimla at IT Dealers' Association has about 20 registered members. The
association was formed about six years back but remained dormant. With growing
issues in the market, members have recently decided to revive the association.
“The process has started and we should be registered by the end of this month.
Through the association, we will aim to increase computer knowledge among
customers. We will do this through seminars and other literacy programs. One
issue we will tackle is that of fake dealers, or outsiders who are operating in
our region, eg. partners from Chandigarh,” informed Jayant Upadhyay of Eline,
who is also President of the association.
| Market name: Shimla Location: Himachal Pradesh, North-West India Size of the market: Approximately 400 PCs a month Surrounding markets: Rampur, Bilaspur, Chandigarh, Solan Prominent dealers: Access Marketing, Ace Infotech Systems, Computer Care, Eline, HTP Computers, Microbridge Association: Shimla IT Dealers' Association Business verticals: Government, SOHO, education, corporate Recent market trends: Dealers are looking forward to a profitable festive season post the lag due to slowdown |
While government is a huge opportunity in the region, channel partners
informed that due to the existence of HP State Electronic Development
Corporation (HPSEDC), they were not getting any share of the IT deals. “The
government has ordered that all IT purchases should be made through HPSEDC. The
corporation in return makes all their IT purchases directly from vendors which
is leaving the channel out,” explained Kumar.
| Satnam Singh, Access Marketing |
| What are the major issues in Shimla market? In Himachal Pradesh, we are facing a major issue with the state government.Our local association has just become active and is in the process of being revived. With all the government orders going to HP State Electronic Development Corporation (HPSEDC) it is a big setback for the channel, since 80 percent of the business in the state comes from government sector. It should be an open market and not closed and monopolistic.
What are the business verticals in Shimla? |
Sharing his opinion on the current situation Singh stressed, “About 80
percent of business in the state happens in the government sector, however, we
get zero percent of it. It should be an open market and not monopolistic.”
Another issues is involving freight. “Distributors started collecting freight
amount from us about a year ago. We have to shell out about Rs 100-200 per
machine. This puts much pressure on us as we have low margins and yet have to
sell at lower prices in order to compete with nearby markets like Chandigarh,”
informed Neeraj Sood of Microbridge who is also the Press Secretary for the
association.