Dubbed the ‘Venice of the East’, Udaipur is one of the most vibrant and colourful tourist attractions. A historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar, it was founded in 1559 by Udai Singh II. Udaipur is known for scenic lakes, historic forts, magnificent palaces, museums, and wildlife. The city is a perfect blend of luxury and simplicity. Tourism is the primary business and source of livelihood. There are an estimated 1500+ hotels and homestays in Udaipur. Mining, marble processing, chemical manufacturing, electronic manufacturing and handicraft industries also contribute to the State GDP. Udaipur is an emerging educational hub in North India. IIM Udaipur was ranked 16th in the management category by NIRF Rankings 2023. The demand for technology is from across the industry verticals and offers scope for the ICT business.
The Scope of the ICT Industry
The ICT channel business has two segments: End users and corporations. Tourism, hospitality, extraction and manufacturing industries generate maximum demand for technology products such as All-in-One, Desktops, Laptops, Commercial Displays, Networking, CCTV Surveillance etc. All the major ICT brands are active through distribution channels and experience centres. LFRs such as Croma and Reliance Digital have stores here. E-commerce has a limited scope but steady growth. Interestingly, while there is a price constraint in the corporate segment, premium and high-end products have decent demand among end-users. Manish Kukreja, owner of Millenium Sound, says that Udaipur has a market for premium brands and high-selling products. “Customers are willing to pay premium prices for custom-built high-end PCs/ machines. We have sold custom-made PCs in the price range of 1 lakh to 5 lakhs. They seek performance and class and are willing to pay a premium price.”
Channel Play
The channel business is well-established in Udaipur. There are approximately 200-250 partners comprising retailers, system integrators, regional distributors and solutions providers with an annual turnover of INR 10 Cr to 20 Cr. All major national distributors have branches here. Many partners have started diversifying due to shrinking margins. Ashish Agarwal, owner of Entertainment Paradise, says he is constantly expanding his solutions offerings by adding new products to capture the market. Active in the industry for over 15 years, he deals in 18 prominent brands, including ASUS, HP, Quickheal, and Microtek. “We are the major regional distributor of ICT hardware, Solar and CCTV products in Rajasthan. Since the conventional channel business has limited growth avenues, we have added new product categories such as printers to capture the potential market in Udaipur and surrounding cities.”
Challenges
Due to its strategic position, channel partners face the challenge of infiltration from other cities like Ahmadabad and Gurugram. E-commerce is another challenge which creates price disparity and impacts conventional channels. The recent Government decision on import restrictions on laptops and other ICT products has had zero impact on the local business. However, partners feel that if vendors fail to create an alternate route for local manufacturing within the given deadline, it might turn into a shortage of certain products and brands and result in a price hike.
The Way Ahead
One of the largest and fastest-growing cities in Rajasthan, Udaipur has the potential for future growth. Both brands and national distributors should focus on premium/high-selling brands and address the issue of infiltration to protect the business interests of local partners. “Udaipur is a rapidly developing city in Rajasthan and North India. Apart from being a major tourist attraction, the city is also a hub of Mining, Marble Processing, Chemical Manufacturing, Electronic Manufacturing, Cement Industry etc. Customers here have high purchasing power, and the market for high-end and premium products is huge. We are committed to ensuring the availability of the latest technology products and solutions to end users”, says, Satish Gupta, Branch Head of Rashi Peripherals Limited, one of the prominent national distributors in India.
