Tamil Nadu rural IT market sees fair chance of growth

Pollachi town is 40 kilometers away from the city of Coimbatore. Its computer dealers complains of the thriving Coimbatore IT market in its plush shopping malls while they are neglected from the brand quotient of vendor companies. The retail shops leaves no dearth in offering attractive gifts along with discounted IT products to buyers. But computer dealers of Pollachi are devoid of such sale strategies as they cannot afford to do so. The reason being the nonchalance of vendor companies in boosting the IT market in rural or upcountry areas.

"The upcountry market in Pollachi will grow by 30 to 40 percent if it gets proper branding from vendor companies", says N. Jayaprakash Narayanan, President, ACDA (Anamalai Computer Dealers Association). He complains that it is the channel partners who have to constantly budge the regional distributors in getting updates about products launched and available in the market. "It is we who have to get the price list of various products and will never reach us if we do not inquire", says Mr. Narayanan. The computer dealers are also left out from channel programs and schemes which is otherwise available to city partners. As a result they are subjected to sell IT goods at MRP while retail shops offer lesser price. If a certain laptop is sold by Pollachi distributors at thirty thousand rupees, the same product will be sold for twenty-seven thousand rupees by a city retail shop along with gifts.

Vendor companies neither send any banners, pamphlets nor conducts meeting with rural IT dealers. They are left in darkness regarding product knowledge, specifications and pricing. It is often from web pages of vendor companies that computer dealers have to update their product knowledge. "There is absolutely no cooperation from vendors side in selling their product in rural Tamil Nadu", remarks Gajendran K, Secretary, COSWAD (Computer Sellers Welfare Association of Dindigul). He says that vendors are only interested and concentrating in cities. But there remains immense scope and promis of IT growth in rural areas. The demand for laptops, tablets and smartphones have permeated rural areas. But it lacks branding and competitive pricing.