Compage Group: Crossing the threshold mark of Rs 100 crore

Compage Group posted a revenue of Rs 103 crore in the last year. Now, the
company has entered into the select club of big league players in south India,
to be watched out for their performance and growth in the coming years

Last year the Compage Group crossed the threshold mark of Rs 100 crore in
revenue. Now, the company has entered into a select club of big league of
players in south India, to be watched out for their performance and growth in
the coming years. Compage Group mainly consists of four businesses - Compage
Data Products (for supplies); Compage Data Products (retail initiative); Arun
Computers (mainly focusing on end-customers) and Compage Computers Pvt Ltd
(which is into sub-distribution). Though, the company entered into IT business
with Compage Data Products in 1993, their flagship business is Compage Computers
(started in 1997) which pegged a turnover of Rs 74 crore in the last year -
thanks to the sustained channel initiatives and expansion programs.

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CEO: G Mahender
Highlights Strengthened the channel network Appointed exclusive product managers to bring in focus Putting more thrust on retail business Started focusing on value and high-end products

Retail is another key area where the company focused more in the last year.
The company grew significantly to become the number one Lenovo retail store in
south India. Retail contributed nearly 10 percent to the total turnover. Now,
the company plans to open more retail stores across Andhra Pradesh, covering
emerging markets like Visakhapatnam, Warangal and Vijayawada, among others. It
wants to get into multi-branded showroom concept. Compage first started its
retail initiative with IBM about three years ago.

In sub-distribution, the company strengthened its position almost with all
brands and expanded its channel reach in the market. Last year, it appointed
exclusive product managers for specific product groups, which brought in the
required focus to business. Overall, it had seven product managers covering
major brands like HP, Intel, Samsung, LG, TVS-E, Microsoft et al. On the channel
front, it got very aggressive by appointing two resellers in every region and
covered almost all the districts of Andhra Pradesh. It strengthened its
relationship with channel partners across the state by conducting regular meets
and programs, which helped the company to grow its sub-distribution business.

Finally, on the supplies side, the company dealt with caution, as there was
too much competition. It focused only on existing accounts and tried to take
piggyback on corporate orders for other requirements. It has a fairly
distributed market segment with contributions from home, SOHO, SMB, BFSI,
government, IT, ITeS, telecom, retail and channel partners.

The company will move on to value-business and high-end products in the
coming years, to protect its margins in business.