Computer/IT peripherals market is on a decline as the market is shifting toward portable devices for computing needs.

This transition will be gradual in developing a market that is price sensitive, says Rajesh Doshi, Director of Zebronics, a Chennai-based manufacturer.

The IT peripherals business is doing well for Zebronics, he says in an interview, and observed that portable devices cannot completely replace personal computers.

Take the case of those with long working hours and loads of typing for whom the convenience of a PC can not be replaced.

Significantly, Doshi adds that good part of loss of business in IT peripherals is compensated by the gaming segment. “We plan to further expand the gaming products even more.”

PC gaming is now becoming popular. To cater to that segment, Zebronics has introduced premium gaming products such as cabinets, keyboard, mouse and headphone.

Which among your product lines account for maximum sales now- speakers, surveillance, peripherals, accessories?

IT peripherals is our core business for over 20 years now; naturally this segment accounts for the maximum sales and we are leaders in this segment. We entered into the speaker business a few years ago, saw the right opportunity in the segment and launched products. Today, we are among the topmost players in this segment. Surveillance is relatively a new segment but here too we are doing well, with a line-up of new products proposed. We are sure that this segment will pick up pace in time to come.

Like all products, there is a seasonality in sales for our range, too. The festive seasons and marriage months are usually better for all our product lines, in particular speaker systems and gifting products.

Did demonetisation in 2016 hit sales? If yes, to what extent?

Like all businesses, we were also affected by the demonetisation. Our growth was affected for a few months since our partners were impacted by it and had a ripple effect. However, the situation improved in 2-3 months. Demonetisation has been one of the biggest economic interventions since Independence. During such a phase, fear dominates the market and its only the sheer necessity that results in any buying. So, though temporarily, some of the buying decisions would have been delayed.

What does de-growth in desktops and their replacement by mobile machines and portable computers mean to you?

I think Zebronics is the only IT peripherals brand in India that has consistently been in this business for over two decades and has always upgraded product SKUs in the vertical.

Some of our peers have diversified into mobile business while some chose to quit the business altogether. Others refrained from product upgrade based on changing customer requirements. Hence, we have this benefit of consolidation for being consistent in this segment.

We have registered year-on-year growth in peripherals business for last few years. This year, there was a lot of factors such as demonetisation and GST, which affected the growth.

Overall, we feel that the peripherals business is on a decline but this gives us an opportunity to grow in other verticals like speakers, accessories and surveillance.

With network in all parts of India, 31 branch offices and 130+ service centres, we sell through these same channel partners with whom we enjoy huge trust. We have been able to establish well in the speakers segment while retaining our hold in the IT peripherals.

Does competition from e-commerce/online window amount to much?

The current online segment is a challenge for channel partners but they’re slowly finding their way. In products like mobiles, where specific SKU is well marketed and sold in big quantities, the look and feel before buying is not that important, since it is the brand and the specification that people look at.

When it comes to sound systems, models across categories are large that the look feel and demo influence buying decisions. This is only made possible by channel partners. In case products are available both online and offline, we try our best to ensure and control the pricing so that there is no disadvantage for our offline channel partners.

When it comes to peripherals, online is not the right way to go as these are not end-consumer product. You can not unbox a computer cabinet and start using it. Channels make more sense for products like these.

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