It's turning out to be a summer of discontent for the channel partners.
Summer is usually the season when most channel partners expect brisk business,
what with new academic season starting and students and educational institutes
lookÂing at buying IT products. But the scene in the community is anything but
happy. A resurgent dollar, inflation going up and a hike in petrol price have
played spoilsport since prices of almost all hardware products have either been
already hiked up or are going to be revised soon.
With grim forecasts pouring in from almost every corner summer blues are what
the channel partners are suffering from. Not that anyone can blame them, with
margins being what they are seasons where consumers indulge in bulk buying are
what everyone hopes for.
The situation is in stark contrast to a couple of months ago when all
analysts unanimously agreed that the Indian economy would be one of those which
would be clearly not affected by the worldwide talks of recession. That while US
and Europe might suffer, India and China will easily be all clear and manage to
post the great growth rates that have been projected.
I was one of those who were clearly buoyed by the healthy rate of growth that
the Indian economy was showing, and was sure that our businesses would not be
affected.
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Shivangi Yadav |
But the subsequent happening and the continued mayhem at the stock exchange
have put even the most optimists amongst us on the back foot. With inflation
showing no signs of being curtailed despite the government trying various
options, many analysts and industry watchers have been forced to concede that
figures will be rewritten and projections reworked.
According to a high level executive at one of the PC vendor company, no one
had anticipated this thing so I guess everyone was caught on the wrong foot and
I am not the only one. But that is not a very heartening thought is it? So am I
going to paint a grim picture this time around and warn you about tougher times?
Well yes and no-while the picture is no longer rosy but I still do believe that
it's doubtful we are going to run into a full fledged recession.
What is going to happen though is that while the growth story is undoubtedly
going to continue the final figures are going to be lesser than what everyone
expected. The country and economy is going to continue to grow, the pace however
might not be what we expected. The hike in price of products will obviously
impact the sales, but I think only in short term. With a recent report
suggesting that the Indian workforce is clearly looking at a handsome hike in
salary despite a bit of a slowdown. And with money in pockets, the Indian
consumer has clearly shown that it is going to spend and that will surely buoy
the sales. So in all probability I do hope that the summer blues will give way
to monsoon cheer very soon. Here's hoping for the best. Cheers!
shivangiy@cybermedia.co.in