We might lose customers if we were to become exclusive dealers. Ashok Patel, Proprietor, Manmeet Corporation.
I have been in the cement dealing business since 1999. We supply primarily to the Mumbai region, within the BMC limit. We do only institutional sales with a monthly dispatch of around 1500 metric tonnes. Our dealership mainly supports the construction business of my family, so our business has not been affected as such by the slowdown. We represent the Vasavdatta, Orient, Commando and CCI brands. Besides this, I also have a RMC plant and am supplying RMC to various projects. However, there are a few challenges in this business such as LBT; it requires lot of paperwork. It is just to avoid the hassle of documentation that I deal within the BMC limits only. We do not supply material in Thane, Vasai, Kaylan, Dombivli areas, which come under LBT regime. In a way, that has restricted our network. I have always believed in having multiple brands for several reasons. Having an exclusive dealership ties me to the policy restrictions laid by the company. Today, in times of hectic competition, we cannot afford to have only one brand. Customers need options on quality and rate. Having an exclusive brand makes me vulnerable to any possible shortage of that brand in the market.