Mr. Alok Kedia, Branch Head, Rashi Peripherals, highlights growth prospects and future roadmap of the Company in southern States.

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Q: How do you see the growth of IT business post-GST implementation in the South region?

Alok Kedia: IT business has been on a steady growth post-GST implementation. We foresee a good demand for PCs and supported hardware due to basic GST filing requirements from smaller businesses, which were still not using computers. Every business unit or service professional has to use computers for billing, accounting and filing statutory requirements under GST. Hence, the demand for PCs has bounced back triggering the demand for Components and Peripherals.

Q: What are the growth potentials for IT hardware business amidst growing inclination of businesses towards software-defined everything? How can distributors be the catalyst in driving the industry growth?

 Alok Kedia: There is a lot of buzz about software-defined everything, but one most important thing we must take into consideration that software cannot run without hardware. It requires a full-fledged hardware set-up to execute software defined processes. Hence, growth in software-defined businesses will boost hardware requirements. Here, distributors can play a very vital role in terms of value additions, improve logistics, and create better consumer awareness to drive overall industry growth.

Q: According to you what are the major challenges the industry is facing in the region in terms of growth and demand? 

Alok Kedia: The political instability has left government buying in the lurch to some extent, which certainly has affected the overall demand for IT products. But this is a short-term impact. Apart from that, I do not see any major challenge.

Q: What new technology innovations do you see in the Component, Peripherals and PCD space? How do you plan to take the latest technology solutions to the end users along with vendors? 

Alok Kedia: Gaming is a segment which is rapidly growing and there is a huge demand for higher-end graphics, MB, memories, and HDD is growing. Similarly, storage solutions are booming due to cloud computing /data center requirements. We are always big on customer education and we intend to explore means like roadshows, media publicity, tech seminars/ conferences for spreading awareness about latest technology trends.

Q: How the mobility business is flourishing in the region? What is your go to market strategy to expand mobility vertical?    

Alok Kedia: Mobility business is definitely on an uptrend. Smartphones today have replaced tablets and has become a basic necessity for all. Rashi Peripherals is already present in mobility segment with a distribution of Apple iPhones and Asus mobile phones and we are doing pretty well.

Q: How has Rashi Peripherals created its stronghold in the South region over the years? 

Alok Kedia: The South region has always been the stronghold of Rashi Peripherals. Over the last 29 years, we have grown to around 15 full-fledged branch offices and service centers. The success attributes to the Goodwill be have built up over the years by the way of healthy customer relations, faster logistics, ethical accounting practices and customer first approach. Being the Silicon Valley of India, the demand for IT will always be never ending and hence, the prospects for business are very high in this region and we are already on the growth path.

Q: What unique value proposition do you offer to partners and vendors? 

Alok Kedia: Value add support is the business philosophy of Rashi Peripherals and our biggest differentiator in the industry. We go hand in hand with vendors, promoting products at all levels and ensure the availability in every nook and corner of the region. We give a lot of thrust on partners’ training and education. We regularly conduct channel meets in association with our vendors and educate partners with the technical aspects and profitability in selling the products, and also provide sales support for faster stock liquidation.

Q: What is your business roadmap for the FY 2018-19? 

Alok Kedia: As I mentioned earlier, we have a very strong presence in the South region and we are growing at a double-digit CAGR yoy. We aim to maintain the same momentum in the coming years. With new products, redefined value-add support, sustained market growth and innovative marketing strategies, we are destined to achieve growth of 30% CAGR in FY 2018-19.