In the 1970s, the white goods maker Philips launched a band transistor named Vikram. The product failed to appeal to value-conscious Indian customers as it required six batteries – priced at Rs. 1.50 each. Philips was reluctant to scrap unsold Vikrams trucks and decided to make "upselling" through its best distributors.
He hoped that resellers such as Ram Mewani from Ganesh Radio, Ambernath (a suburb of Mumbai), had been operating for just five years, but had exceeded the sales of several large distributors. Mewani simply printed thousands of flyers and placed them in newspapers distributed in and around Ambernath and the Ulhasnagar region.
"TRANSISTORS PHILIPS VIKRAM FOR SALE. PRICE – Rs 101. PAY Rs 10 NOW AND THE REST MORE THAN 91 DAYS ", read the flyers.
"We sold thousands of pieces in the next few weeks. Buyers lined up outside our store for hours. We sold Vikram transistors like peanuts, "recalls Mewani (72), founding president of Kohinoor Televideo, new age avatar of the former Ganesh radio center.
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<p> Even the giants of e-commerce do not underestimate the power of these large chains of consumer durables Amazon has already formed partnerships with offline resellers for programs such as Amazon Easy, which "empowers small convenience stores" to be "digital badistants" for new online shoppers. "The growth of e-commerce has opened up many additional revenue streams for offline retailers, "reads in Amazon's e-mail response," excite the offline electronics product chains. "" They can badociate with small bunk stores for that. "We can not be the secretaries of e-commerce companies – we do not have to, "says a small wholesaler of Kerala products.
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<p> Offline retailers, as opposed to e-commerce companies, prefer to keep an "badet-rich" model. Most electronic channels operate in their own premises. Large companies such as Vijay Sales and Kohinoor operate on a 70:30 model, where 70% of their showrooms are owned, which reduces rents. "We only open stores where people have the money to buy our goods. Purchasing power is important to any reseller of electronics, "says Ram Mewani. "If we like the place and the land is at a fair price, we get it. What we do plays in real estate. "
</p>
<p> Resellers such as Vijay Sales and Kohinoor are virtually debt free. They do not have external investors or plans to register on the stock exchanges soon.
</p>
<p> Venugopal Dhoot, founder-CMD of the Videocon Group, places great hopes in the survival of dealers and distributors offline. According to Dhoot, touchand-feel is an important factor in the retail sale of consumer durables and will remain so. "Globally, over 90% of consumer durables are sold offline. People trust merchants and merchants more than gates, "says Dhoot.
</p>
<p> <strong> CHANGING FLAVORS </strong><br />
<br /> The attention paid to the customer has helped white goods resellers, such as Mewani and Gupta, to develop their businesses. When valve TVs were launched in India in the 1970s, they sometimes took between 10 and 15 minutes to warm up, leaving shoppers panicked for bringing home a faulty TV. Gupta walked past the guest houses to make sure everything was fine.
</p>
<p> In 1982, India hosted the Asian Games (Asiad) in Delhi. Resellers such as Kohinoor and Vijay Sales each booked orders for 250 to 300 televisions. Mewani recalls selling an unreserved TV channel (labeled Rs 4,000) at Rs 14,000. "The shelves would be empty when we closed our shop every day. The rich were buying TVs, while low-income people were buying quality radio sets, he said.
</p>
<p> Before Asiad, offline appliance retailers were not white goods sellers in the real sense of the word. In addition to radio sets (Bush, Murphy and Philips), sewing machines, individual refrigerators (Allwyn) and basic televisions (Bharat TV, Crown, Dynora, Solidaire, Orson, Weston), they also sold bedding. , cots, furniture and oil stoves.
</p>
<p> The real boom in electronics retailing began after the games, when brands such as Videocon, Onida, Kelvinator, Voltas, Hitachi and National Panasonic linked with these distributors. "The new brands came with new products and variants. Resellers like us have developed our showrooms. In the early 2000s, we also started selling mobile phones. This has attracted more customers. The goal was then to make shopping more comfortable and convenient, "explains Gupta de Vijay Sales.
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<p> Vijay Sales and Kohinoor like to keep large exhibition halls, while Great Eastern prefers mid-sized stores for easy management and stricter display. "We are working on very low costs," says Baid. "Department stores are good, but it can increase your operating costs. We want all our stores to be profitable. The sizing of stores therefore depends entirely on the type of revenue that we can generate from a site. "
</p>
<p> <strong> GENERAL SHIFT </strong><br />
<br /> Ask Nanu Gupta to evaluate his sons and he says, "Bilkul zero hain dono." Ashish, his second son, willingly agrees and says, "We do not have him. do not have in us. like Baba. He is a master seller. It would not let any customer go out without buying a product. "
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<p> The brothers had important debates with their father about the fixed closing time. "Baba would be irritated when the storekeepers pull half-shutters at 9:30 pm. We try to tell him it's for security reasons, but he thinks we're limiting our customers by doing it, "the older brother chuckles.
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<p> The brothers Baid Pulkit and Pooja were trained to negotiate with the manufacturers. "The idea is to get the maximum benefit that can be delivered to customers," says Pulkit.
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<p> Mewani disapproves of his son Vishal's approach. "He's too transparent. You do not have to divulge all your cards. Manufacturers should not know your weaknesses, "he warns. "I do not think so," retorted Vishal. "It's best to be transparent in business."
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<p> Older men can now relax because the wires have risen.<br />
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