Him Electronics Pvt Ltd, the authorized distributor of Samsung products in Nepal, has partnered with City Express Money Transfer Pvt Ltd to introduce a product that allows Nepali migrant workers to buy television sets for their friends and family back home by paying at outlets of City Express in the country they are living. Republica talked to Seema Golchha, director of Him Electronics Pvt Ltd, to know more about the product and other issues. Excerpts:
How is the Nepali market for consumer electronics?
Nepal is a growing market for consumer electronics. It is a very interesting market because people here are fond of purchasing. Electronics also comes in it because it is a lifestyle. People here love to buy new gadgets. Him Electronics has an advantage here because we represent a very competitive brand. This works for us very well.
Are Samsung products available online?
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Consumers can get Samsung electronic products online through e-commerce platforms like Sasto Deal and Daraz. We also receive lot of queries in our website and social media pages. About 2-3 percent of our total sales come through online medium. Online market in Nepal is not developed much compared to the international market. Here, you still need a proper ecosystem which very importantly includes a proper digital payment system. This is one of the reasons why people still want to come physically. Sometimes we can't compare our market to western market. Here, people are not that busy. So, they want to feel the products physically and get to know about its features from salesperson. There is a very little shift in people's attraction to online market, but eventually it will happen.
Him Electronics recently partnered with City Express Money Transfer for selling TV sets to migrant Nepali workers. Could you please elaborate more on it?
When people working outside Nepal bring products, it cannot be assured that their products are compatible. Also, it is definitely difficult to bring products from other countries. We have collaborated with City Express so that anyone in foreign country can make payment from there and get the product delivered to their family here. The advantage of this service is that our products come with warranty and after sales service.
Samsung Plaza last year announced to provide education to 50 underprivileged girls as part of its CSR activity. How was the initiative?
As Samsung Plaza employs only women, we had been brainstorming about the celebration of our 15th anniversary. So, we decided to support 50 school girls from Kathmandu with their all educational materials. We recently organized adult literacy class for 30 women in Madi, Chitwan.
How can we encourage women to involve decision-making role at corporate level?
Fifteen years ago, we started Samsung Plaza with all women staff at the time when electronics market was a very unconventional market for women. Women were mostly engaged in beauty parlor and boutique. Role model is very important for women to continue their work. Women get higher education, but very few of them come in the leadership roles. So, we though our model would help the women to come into the corporate world, continue it and come to leadership roles. In corporate houses, women in leadership roles should frequently share their success stories, so that the women staff get motivated.
As the market is flooded with gray products, how do you ensure customers that your products are genuine?
We have two tools to ensure that our products are genuine. First, we give warranty. The other is after sales service. Though our products might be little expensive, we provide warranty and good after sales service.
