SHRINKING SILIGURI MARKET PROMPTS PARTNERS TO DIVERSIFY

Small IT market located in the district of Darjeeling, Siliguri might have been a hub of tea plantation but the IT industry in the region is on doldrums as the region is not getting good business. The channels too are not fetching good results in numbers as there is a major slowdown in the IT business. While there are no profit margins left in the business, people are diversifying their business and running ancestral business to meet their needs.

Rajesh Rathi, President, IT Dealer Association of Siliguri informs, “The market has shrunk considerably as there  is no demand from the Government sector, but in the SOHO segment there is little demand which helps in running the business for some.”

The region is mainly dealing in Laptops which is taking over the market. Tablets and Smart Phones are other products which are garnering business. At a time when the demand for laptops, tabs and smart phones is helping running the business, the service support is major cause of concern for the channels and retailers. Deepak Agarwal, Director, Cyber Informatics shares, “In Siliguri service is done by franchisee, where they are not so much competent. In Kolkata where the service is done within two working days it takes a month in Siliguri.”

With the lack of proper training on the technology know-how, channels and retailers are facing problems in doing business in CCTV, Security solutions and smart phone. Another major problem that Rajesh Lahiri Director, Digital Infotech sees is the presence of malls in their region where people are going under a single roof and getting every product, this advantage is diverting people from moving in the channel market or retail IT outlet.

“The elite class of the region is moving towards malls for their essential buying. Moreover from last few quarters the IT market has really slog down that its existence is now on question, this is all due to Government economic problem, inflation in international market, dollar hike and mostly the political problem in the mountain region of North Bengal which hampered the tourism business and all these effected the IT market highly,” he sums up.