Grey market a threat for Dell India

NEW DELHI, INDIA: It seems hard time for a company that has witnessed exponential growth over the past few years in India. Dell that has carved a niche in consumer PC products is probably under threat from grey market imports.

Dell India has issued a circular to its authorized partners that if any product is being procured from the unauthorized channel, then the company will not be liable to offer warranty support.

“The apparent price differentials in the Indian marketplace as compared to overseas markets is actually facilitating parallel imports in the country,” informed a partner. Dell products are being procured from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore by some partners and are being sold to consumers.

The PC major said that the products that are secured from an unauthorized channel, by way of parallel imports but being sold in the India market, is totally an unacceptable practice to the company.

Dell said that it does not take responsibility of any kind of service support for the grey market, imported or refurbished products. Dell has already identified more than 10 partners but it's not known what kind of action would be taken against them.

In India, Dell has a manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, where nearly 500 people work. However, this grey channel may hamper the company's long-term growth in the country.

Despite of repeated attempts, Sanjay Yadav, director for distribution at Dell India could not be contacted for comments.