Nowadays, smartphones have turned into a necessity. From vegetable vendors to small kids, everyone is swiping on their phones following their Facebook feed, texting and playing games. One must wonder where these phone shops are located and how people can get their hands on one so easily.
A lot of the smartphone shops in Kathmandu are located in New Road. This place has more than 200 shops with new ones opening up every month or so. Many have been here for ages. Many similar stores have mushroomed on both sides of this busy New Road Street. Some are authorized resellers of a certain brand while others sell many different brands.
Six-lane road turns into a playground for children
Shops sell brands such as Samsung, Gionee, Huawei and Oppo but shops selling unconventional mobile brands have also opened up in the area. Shyam Bajracharya, an employee at a showroom for Golcha Mobile said, “Our brand is pretty unheard of. We have a store in this area because a lot of people come here to buy smartphones. People will be aware of our brand. This place provides good marketing.”
The shops in the area have smartphones that cost anywhere from around Rs 5,000 to Rs 90,000. These shops attract a huge demographic of people and fit the budgets of almost anybody looking for a good smartphone. New Road is busy place, so most of the shops are packed with people looking for a good deal on a smartphone. “We have a shop here for branding. People have been shopping for mobile phones in the area for many years so they trust the shops here,” said Ahmad Siddiqui, the general manager of an authorized Samsung outlet, “People come to this area if they need a new phone so an outlet here is very profitable.”
This area of New Road is a prime destination for smartphone shoppers. Many people have realized that and have opened up new shops as business ventures to earn profit. With so many new shops opening up, the supply may be greater than the demand in the years to come.
