The IT Distribution market has achieved remarkable growth in recent times. The demand for IT products is increasing by each passing day which has brought huge opportunities for the distribution houses. Creative Newtech Limited is India’s one of the fastest growing national distributors with many leading brands on board. Creative Newtech works in different verticals which contributes to its overall growth of the company. Ketan Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Creative Newtech Limited interacted with DT and elaborated about their performance, growth plans, challenges and more.
DT: Please share Overall Performance in Year 2022.
Ketan: In the financial year 2021-22, we reported a consolidated Total Income of Rs. 947.81 Cr., as compared to Rs.526.32 Cr. in Financial year 2020-21 which is a year-on-year growth of 80.08%. Net profit for FY 2021-22 was reported at Rs. 19.25 Cr., compared to Rs.9.41 Cr. FY 2020-21 represents a year-on-year rise of 105.22 %.
DT: What is your plan to strengthen your distribution business across all Indian market?
Ketan: Millennials and Gen Z constitute the majority population in India, and they value experiences above everything. Using our 3C’s, we create great Content, which builds a Community, and once the community and content are in place, Commerce will take place gradually. To build a community, you require access to partners, scale and skills, an omnichannel approach, and intimacy with the customer. We have created these pillars perfectly as a company. We will leverage our experience, expertise and knowledge of local markets to enable the best customer experience and business outcomes.
DT: What all support do you expect from the brands for greater profitability & overall company growth?
Ketan: We treat our partnership with brands like a marriage. We ensure that our vision and strategy for expansion in India are a good match. We also almost always enter into an exclusivity contract so that there is greater freedom to execute events, assign distributors and conduct promotional events. This helps focus on gaining traction instead of competing with other distributors on margins.
DT: What as per you is two biggest challenge for distribution business in India?
Ketan: Rapidly increasing costs due to supply chain disruptions and rising raw material prices leave distributors vulnerable to inventory and product price changes. Distributors are constantly trying to limit their cost exposure. Still, competition may make it difficult to mark up expensive inventory in a market continuously trying to adjust to the post-covid trends.
Distribution channels in India have primarily been traditional. While the industry has some illustrious and humongous enterprises, most distributors and channel partners lack the new-age advancements to make systems interactive and yield real-time results. While covid has forced people and companies everywhere to accelerate towards digitization, adaption is still slow, and automation costs are plenty. This hurts the business since channel members have difficulty getting an overview of the business and its growth.
