Amrita Tejasvi
New Delhi
May 8th, 2007
Considering the gray market as a threat to the channel business in the country,
Samsung has begun an initiative to educate partners and cut down the
availability of 'gray products' in the market. It has circulated an educational
letter to 300 partners and 300 systems integrators (SI) across the country to
sensitize them on the issues related to the gray market and discourage them from
indulging in similar activities.
In order to create a positive impact on the partners, the Company has taken the
support of industry organizations like Manufacturers Association of Information
Technology (MAIT) and Progressive Channels Association of Information Technology
(PCAIT).
Reacting to the initiative, members of the industry organizations felt that it
was a positive move towards controlling the 'gray' business. "I feel that
Samsung has made the right move in alerting partners on the gray market. This
would benefit not only the Company but the Industry as a whole," said
Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT.
The main objective for Samsung, according to PCAIT, was to increase sales of
original Samsung products as also to inform partners about the disadvantages of
buying products from the gray market since they would get no warranty or
after-sales service on them. As part of the initiative, Samsung would also
create awareness about the legal issues arising out of this activity and educate
the partners about the same.
Another interesting observation made by the PCAIT was that many partners
preferred the term 'parallel imports' to 'gray market' since they pay all the
required custom duties even for such products. "This is an interesting
observation and we are planning to inform the Company about it," said Saket
Kapur, Secretary, PCAIT.