The March Of The Dwarfs

The Delhi-based computer giant, PCL, had slashed prices, declaring war on assemblers like him. "There was no way to match PCL's prices. We were completely helpless. All we could do was wait and watch." He, and his cronies did just that. And saw PCL collapse spectacularly as it tried to carry out its grand assault on the unorganised market.

Another fortuitous development took place around the same time. In the beginning of 1996, Intel made its entry in India. The chip maker came in with a clear mandate: grow the PC market, and increase usage of computers in the country. And to do that, the $25 billion corporation was prepared to pour in hundreds of millions of rupees.

A thousand firms bloomed. Today, Dalal's company, Dynacons Systems and Solutions, part of the Genuine Intel Dealer(GID) segment, is a Rs 7 crore business. His compatriot, Chetan Shah who runs Computech, has set his sights even higher. He is exploring options to tie up with GIDs in other cities to increase his market reach. Computech already has an on-line PC store of sorts where customers can click and configure machines to order. (Customers still have to fax across the order form, though).

The rebirth of the 1000-odd grey marketers, who now carry the more respectable GID segment tag, is a tale of fluctuating fortunes. It is about the charge of the unorganised segment, which has not only held on to its territory, but given the large, established companies a run for their money. And playing the anchor role is a multi-billion dollar global giant who has staked its reputation behind this army of dwarfs.

What's more, the GIDs have perfected a way of doing business which, although characteristically local, is just as potent as some of the most sophisticated business models being adopted by computer companies the world over.

Twice bitten

Many have dreamt of it, but creating a mass market for PCs is yet to become a reality. Many plans have come a cropper, and firms that went the distance, found themselves utterly helpless against this untamed beast.

It seemed like a home truth: computers would be lapped up by the masses only if they became more affordable. But so far, the area of focus, to a very large extent, has been the institutional segment