Hiren Shah,
Partner, Manordas Gopalji
ICR is constantly in touch with cement dealers, who are the crucial, connecting link between the manufacturer and the consumer. Dealers know the pulse of market, beat by beat. So we asked them how their business was going and what were the problems they were beset with. Here is their response, in their voice.
We have been cement dealers for ACC from last 70 years. ACC is one of the leading cement brands and has strong pull from the market. We supply to builders from Mira Road to Dahanu region in Mumbai (Maharashtra). Cement being a low margin product, it does not make sense for us to dispatch the product far off from our base in Mumbai. Along with retailers and builders, the product is popular with the concrete manufacturers too. Our monthly dispatch is around 10,000 MT. Currently 25 per cent of the demand is from the retail sector, while remaining 75 per cent comes from the institutional sector. As more and more players are getting organised, the share of institutional sector is rising slowly. The slowdown in the business from last year has drastically affected our cash flow. Builders are complaining about slowdown in the realty sector. The demand for new property has plummeted drastically. In such a scenario, where demand is less, it will help us if the cement companies stop assigning more than one dealer for a brand in the same locality. It will be tough to continue if the government does not start up new infrastructural projects.