Bihar to get 4 e-malls in 3 months

In a bid to extend its presence and tap the prominent regions in Bihar,
Astric Computers has decided to come up with four IT malls, spanning across
Bihar in a span of three months.

Overwhelmed by the success of the first IT mall in Patna, PK Sinha, Director,
Astric Computers said, "We are thinking of expanding our reach across all major
IT destinations in the state and will shortly introduce four new IT malls in the
chief upcountry markets of Bhagalpur, Gaya, Muzzafarpur and Saharsa."

Sinha intends to tap upcountry markets, taking the IT retail segment to a new
height. "The e-mall in Patna has already fetched a turnover of Rs 7 crore last
year, as Bihar is heading towards a more aggressive stance in IT retail
segment," he elaborated.

"Each store would be of around 1,000sq ft with housing PCs, telecom products,
peripherals, external storage devices, aftermarket supplies and accessories,
home networking products and digital lifestyle products like digicams, media
players and office automation products," he further added.

Planning to introduce a LAN set-up in the e-mall, the company will soon
introduce DSL cable network interlinking all the e-malls across Bihar. The IT
retail sector is witnessing a boom across the state, especially after the
introduction of Dell Inspiron and Studio series there.

Bihar has already witnessed a halt in IT supplies in upcountry markets with
the logistics going out of track after the devastating floods this year. Major
markets like Muzzafarpur and Saharsa have been hit hard due to a shortfall in
supplies backed by a steep rise in hardware prices. However, overcoming all
odds, Sinha is planning to introduce a steady supply chain to feed its e-malls
even in times of calamity.

Though in a nascent stage, Astric Computers has developed a well-knit supply
management chain, especially with HP and D-Link ensuring that Patna never runs
out these stocks. Now, Astric is on the way to extend its supply chain support
to the four upcountry markets and aims to double its revenue.

Strong in the local distribution business, Astric Computers has crossed over
Rs 12 crore revenue mark, keeping its loyalty with HP and D-Link.