How Vijay Sales is Focusing on Creating a Strong Omnichannel Experience?

The demography of our country holds a huge opportunity in the electronics industry as we have one of the youngest population in the world and being one of the pioneers of the software industry supplying software solutions to the entire world, the younger generation is aspiring to get into this sector. Coupled with the thrust of the Make in India initiative by the Government, the disposable income is increasing YoY. Hence, India will see a continuous demand for consumer durables and tech products. As India is progressing, the rise in nuclear families and the shortage of household help will lead to an increase in the sales of appliances.

In an exclusive conversation, Nilesh Gupta, Director, Vijay Sales, talks about the current market landscape of the Indian electronics retail industry. He elaborates on Vijay Sales’ journey and how is the brand innovating to keep up with the ever-changing demands of consumers.

It was 1967 when Vijay Sales was established as a small shop for selling sewing machines and fans. Over the years, it grew into a multi-city, large-format consumer durable electronics retail chain. The journey so far has been wonderful. As the country advanced and the market expanded with a massive range of products, Vijay Sales also grew with the changing times. 

Nilesh says, "Consumer durables and electronics is no longer considered a luxury, hence I think our category of products has become an essential part of the daily life; Roti, Kapda, Makaan, and Electronics."

How is the current market for the electronics industry?

Currently, the market in India is quite promising as most of the consumer durables and electronics we sell are based on needs and not wants. Day by day people are getting more dependent on electronics and gadgets and hence the replacement cycle of our products is decreasing. So, we are foreseeing huge growth in the future. 

What are the new strategies that you adopted during the pandemic that helped you sustain the impact of the pandemic? Also, how is the brand innovating to keep up with the ever-changing demands of consumers?

During the pandemic since all our team members were working from home, they connected to our database of customers asking if they had any issues with their electronic appliances and assured them as soon as the unlock begins they will get their products back in order. During the pandemic, we focused on our online platform and the business started moving upwards on www.vijaysales.com. These strategies kept our team engaged with customers and their needs and wants which were crucial.

Meanwhile, to meet the ever-changing demands of the consumers, we are aggressively focusing on creating a strong omnichannel experience in the changing times and keeping a tab on what our customers want.

You have recently tied up with Noise. Any plans to tie-up with more such brands to expand their offline reach?

It’s been nearly more than a month since the tie-up and the results are very promising. Together, we are working on the outdoor and digital media to let the consumers know that the brand Noise is available with us and since then we are witnessing a good surge in the wearable tech category. We observe what our customers want and constantly launch brands based on the customer demand and needs.

The price of electronic goods is expected to rise this year. How do you think it will impact the demand? Which categories are expected to stay immune from the price rise and why?

Due to the input and freight costs going up, there would not be any category that would be immune to the price rise. It will not impact the demand as 60-70 percent of our sale happens through EMIs. Therefore, the price increase will only result in a minor increase in the equated monthly installments, which will not hurt the consumers' pocket. A slight impact could be consumers buying lower value/size products but this would be in minimal cases.

Tell us your future plans for 2021.

There will be an increased focus on improving customer experience. We will focus our energy towards developing our website and omnichannel experience further and increasing penetration in the markets of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh where we acquired a firm 2 years back.