Oops! Missed a Catch

color="#000000">The
cricket fervor is back in the Indian sub-continent with India
climbing high, gradually reaching towards the quarterfinals of one of
the most awaited game series in the world. The
'Men in Blue' are back again. And this time with a bifurcated team
and gameplay pattern,
Indians are banking on their favorite team to lift the World Cup this
time again after a
span of nearly three decades. The href="http://www.dqweek.com/World-Cup-Cricket-fever-The-Predictopus-of-cricket-world-cup">World
Cup time is comparable to
several festive seasons in India. It is a time when starting from
apparel manufacturers to airlines, from hotels and holiday
inns to fast food joints, all make a good deal of money with sports
enthusiasts often seen
touring across the country. As the Indian team continues to march on
its way towards glory at a dramatic speed, it seems that the channel
scenario in the nation is not keeping upto the marching tune. The
distribution space in the channels has got a different story to tell
and that too a tragic one. “Although I think there are numerous
end-user schemes going on, primarily on account of the ICC World Cup,
there are no dedicated channel schemes for us,” said Rakesh Jain of
Chennaibased Supreme Computers. Noticeably, no major distributor or
subdistributor in Chennai is reported to have any channel incentive
scheme of any major vendor in place during the raging World Cup. Same
is the case with Delhi.

“There
are no dedicated schemes running at the moment for the World Cup for
the channels. For the endusers, there is definitely a range of choice
and schemes, but the channels are dry,” said Naresh Kohli of
Delhi-based International Computer Resource. Adding to Kohli's
opinion, CV Divakar Prabhu of International Marketing Company, said,
“There is nothing in store for the distribution players in channels
for the World Cup. No vendors are promoting any scheme for the
channels on account of the World Cup.” Same is the case in Jammu,
with Sanjay Langer of AGM Sales Corporation echoing the repetative
statement. “In the retail space many schemes have been launched by
the vendors to tap the end-users, but not anything (during ICC World
Cup) for the distributors,” he commented. The
vendors on the other hand have taken a leap forward in coming up with
new schemes for
the end-users. With the per-capita disposable income in the nation
increasing and the purported inflation seemingly under control with
onion prices stabilizing and the new Union Budget 'expected to
normalize life of the common man', vendors have make a headstart in
offering customers a range of choices. In a noticeable move this
season, LG has launched the Optimus on occasion of the World Cup.
Poised to feature as a 'collector's item' by having the shiny
gold World Cup logo etched on its back, LG is reportedly releasing
only 1,000 units of the limited-edition Optimus in eight cities
across India. Optical drive major and prominent laptop manufacturer
Sony has also come out with offers over its range of Bravia LCD
televisions on account of the World Cup, but there is hardly anything
to offer to the IT channel.

However, the schemes from vendors have not only been limited to the
raging cricket mania but there were also Valentine's Day special
offers by vendors such as HP. Although none of the major distributors
in India have voiced any opinion about the dearth of channel schemes
during the ICC World Cup, this phase of business can be considered as
a lost business opportunity for both the vendor and the channels.
With the IPL 4 also showing its first sign of bloom through TV
advertisements, the two mega cricket events together are expected to
fetch an advertising spend of Rs 1,500 to 1,700 crore. The sheer
amount of money spent over ad campaigns and sponsorships has started
to raise eyebrows with the IPL projected to churn more ad revenue
than the ICC World Cup in India. Meanwhile, the scenario in the IT
channels remains bleak as earlier, with regular sales picking up a
gradual momentum at an expected growth rate of 12 percent. “There
are no special schemes for us (distributors)
on account of the World Cup from any vendor we deal with. The market
scenario
remains the same,” concluded Vinod Mulchandani of Mumbai-based
Aarvee Computers.