Showrooms are not the right solution

Last month I had written about the number of showrooms being opened all
across the country. I had mentioned that these are mere showpieces and do not in
any way help in sales.

However, there are plenty of people out there who are bent upon proving me
wrong. First among them is my dear friend Naughty. No, please don't take it
literally. I meant S Nautiyal of Delhi-based Spark Technology who is known
amongst close friends as Naughty. He has just opened a Samsung showroom in Nehru
Place. In the process, he has spent huge amount of money buying that piece of
real estate. As a result, his financial position has become very tight.

Now the question arises, is Naughty's large investment likely to pay him
good dividends in the coming months? Highly unlikely. Though he would not admit
it, it is highly improbable that Spark will have any direct benefits from this
showroom. At best, there could be some indirect benefits.

Asim Raina Editor

Somewhat similar is the case of my another friend Manoj Gupta of Challanger
Computers, also based in Delhi. Immediately after Naughty opened his showroom in
Nehru Place, Manoj opened a Sony showroom in north Delhi. Again, he has sunk
quite a big packet in this showroom and is very unlikely to get any direct
benefit.

On the other hand, Rakesh Jain of Chennai's Supreme Computers is said to
have tasted success from his laptop only showroom in the city's Spencer Plaza.
Though modesty prevents him from claiming any success, the fact of the matter is
Rakesh has reasons to be happy with his showroom, which he now wants to expand.

But then Rakesh is one of the exceptions. And that too because his is not the
run of the mill showroom. Rather, it is a very specialized place. Whereas,
almost everybody else has the same old showroom concept with very little
variation. The need of the hour, if you want to have a lasting impact in this
market, is to have a place, which is zara hat ke.

As I had written earlier in these columns, I am a little skeptical about this
whole concept of showrooms. I don't think there time has come. At best, they
are just ego boosters for the vendors who think more the showrooms bigger the
success. In the process, it is the channel partner who ends up making all the
investments in the fond hope of making a killing. The reality turns out to be
different, when he sees no gains.

So, he needs to take a hard and close look before making huge investments in
showrooms. Ideally, he should evaluate the pros and cons of doing that. He is
certain to find out that showroom is the best of the solution for his future
growth.