Chennai’s Ritchie Street, the electronics grey market hub, is slowly feeling the pinch of Covid-19 that has impacted economy worldwide.
Dealers here indicate that if the situation does not stabilise in the next thirty days, their business will fall drastically. Shopkeepers in the street, which is off Anna Salai, said the stocks at their godowns are dwindling.
With over 2,500 shops, Ritchie Street is the second largest market for electronics in India after Nehru Place in New Delhi.
“Majority of the products and spare parts come from China. After the outbreak of Covid-19, the consignments coming in have decreased. There is a shortage of certain products and spare parts,” said R.Chandalia, secretary, Chennai Electronics and Infotech Traders Association, Ritchie Street.
“Local manufacturing units who buy Chinese spare parts for production will be worst hit. About 70% of manufacturing imports are from China. This will start affecting everyone if the situation does not stabilise by April,” he added.
Dharmendra Kumbhat, who runs Sunshine Tele Link, said, “I have a tie up with a Chinese manufacturer [in Shenzhen] for making mobile accessories – these are my own brands. We received our last consignment before the Chinese New Year.”
“In the last two months, new mobile brands have being introduced in the market and we don’t have accessories for these models. We have spoken to our manufacturers but considering the situation in China, we need to wait and watch,” he said.
Many manufacturers who source raw materials from this street are queuing up and there is a trend of panic buying. Sunil Pipada, who runs S.R.Electronics on Narasingapuram Street and supplies spare parts for inverters and stabilizers, said there is a panic buying. “Deliveries are getting delayed. We need components from China to run the show, there is no other alternative,” he added.
Local shops in the electronic market have started stocking goods so that they can sustain for few months. Now traders may be forced to import products from other countries like Taiwan and Japan at higher prices until China starts production.
“Students who come here for their school and college projects are also affected as prices have gone up and there is a shortage of components,” Mr. Chandalia said. “Students doing projects in robotics come here to source minute components which is not available elsewhere,” he said.
The street is a household name for electronics goods with a huge stretch covering Narasingapuram street, Wallers Street, Meeran Sahib Street, Mohammed Hussain Sahib Street and Guruappa Road.
The market sells products at a lesser price when compared to showroom price. TVs, laptops, home theatre systems, mobiles, instruments, led panels and all sorts of electronic equipment are sold.
Small retailers who operate out shops which are 100 sq ft in size said that wholesalers have hiked prices by 20-30%. “We are procuring products at the higher price,” said a retailer who wished anonymity. It was the response of five other retailers here. “We are sourcing products at a high price from the wholesalers,” they said. “We cannot pass on the price hike to our customers else we might lose them,” said another retailer here.
Wholesalers who have been running businesses here for several decades suggested that, this hub has to look at an alternate market. With Tamil Nadu being the MSME base, the government should encourage small units in and around Chennai to manufacture these components. “It can’t happen overnight but if we start doing it now we will be able to manufacture locally within next three years,” said another retailer on Narasingapuram streeet.
