Customers Agony in a Slow Market!
Diwali was always the busiest period of sales for all vendors because customers would swarm showrooms to make the best of deals and discounts given at this time. That enthusiasm is clearly missing this Diwali due to the market meltdown. There is an unusual cheerlessness in the markets despite Diwali being just two weeks away. There seem to be hardly any takers for any products in spite of great slashes declared by all major companies. Sony, for instance, has cut down rates of some of its LCD models by 50,000 rupees to 1 lakh rupees. Samsung reported similar price drops.
“Though there are several special schemes being offered by the company, nobody seems to be coming. Sales are down by 75%,” said an official at the Samsung showroom in Lajpat Nagar. Hitesh Soni, an employee at the Soni showroom in south Delhi said, “Our sales compared to the past few years are down. Cameras and LCDs are what sold the most but now there are hardly any sales. This has been the worst year so far in my eight years with the company.”
The same fate is met by the automobile industry. Many companies have reduced their prices to a great extent to ensure competitive prices. General Motors has slashed the price of Chevrolet Spark by Rs 48,000-56,000, (depending on the model), to bring it in the same bracket as Alto and i10.
The biggest reason for this slum is the soaring rate of interests that the banks are now charging to give loans. Due to the market meltdown, banks have made their loan facilities very strict. As most of the high range products were always sold on the basis of EMI’s, with non-availability of such facilities the common man is not able to buy any of the above products.
“Compared to last year, sales are down by 15-20%. Sale of small and mid-segment cars have been hit the most, probably because the potential buyers for these are almost always reliant on loans and banks have reduced their options. There is still demand for models that are yet to enter the market but for those that are available off the shelf and for which money is needed immediately, the situation is really bad,” said Surendra Singh, showroom manager of Competent Autos.
It’s saddening to know that many people would have to celebrate Diwali without the pomp and show they would have thought of celebrating it with. Let’s hope this recession fades away sooner than later!
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