Tuesday, August 27, 2013: India’s tech and appliances hubs like Delhi’s Nehru Place and Lamington Road in Mumbai have been adversely affected by the falling rupee. Footfall has dropped by a fifth because the price of electronic items have have increased by 15 per cent over the previous month.
Moreover, the traders are also worried that sales during the approaching festive season may decrease to half of the corresponding previous year festive sales. Same situation can be seen in Kolkata’s Fancy Market and Five Star Market, Gaffar Market in Delhi and Chennai’s Ritchie Street.
The Indian rupee sliding past 64 against dollar has resulted in steady rise in the prices of electronic products such as laptops, desktops, tablets, mobile phones and accessories. According to a Deutsche Bank report, the rupee may drop to 70 against dollar in a months time. Owing to steep rise in prices of electronic goods, the customer spending has gone down during the last few months and therefore the business has gone down by 50 per cent.
Apart from this, the business is also facing setback due to the government’s ban on free imports of flat-screen televisions from neighbouring countries. At Ritchie Street in Chennai, some of the importers are making an effort to manage the situation by selling earlier imported stock at revised prices.
