– Rahul Gandhi, Director , Mahaveer Building Material Pvt Ltd
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 a dealer in cement for the past 20 years in Pune district. We have dealership of Bharati Cement and JSW Cement. JSW is comparatively new brand which is mainly focusing on projects. On an average, we sell 350 tonne in retail and 150 tonne in bulk per month. We have a direct supply arrangement with the cement companies as per the requirement from our customers. The respective cement company provides the transportation facilities. The cement companies help us by way of marketing activities and advertisements in selling the product. They always encourage our customers who are contractors, masons, engineerings, interior designers etc.
Currently, the issue basically is the price, which has gone up drastically in the last couple of months at the same time, there is no change in sales margins. The government has to introduce some policy initiative by setting a minimum earning margin for the dealer and the margin should be according to the price, if the price is increased, the margin should be revised accordingly. This will help the dealer stay in the business in difficult times. GST will be a good initiative as the anomalies in tax structure will go and it will be uniform.