"Such cut in prices stood at 10 to 20 percent, and we used to instantly transfer it to the customers," said Ram Bakhati, sales manager of Jambo Electronics at New road.[break]
However, amid currency volatility, owing to which Nepali rupee has shed as much as 23 percent against a USD over the past one year, he said the local authorized distributors have rarely offered such cuts. "It is not their fault, for the US dollar itself has strengthened at such a rate that the offers simply do not exist these days," Bakhati told Republica.
Contrary to investors´ liking, authorized distributors of the electronics items said the rise in value of dollar vis-à-vis Nepali rupee has rather made their products expensive.
For instance, International Marketing Service (IMS), the authorized distributor of Samsung Mobile, that launched Samsung Galaxy at Rs 13,000 in November 2011, has presently tagged the price of the same mobile at Rs 13,500.
“Leave aside the cut, the prices of the older versions have gone up these days,” said Deepak Malhotra, executive chairman of International Marketing Service.
As a result, mobile set dealers said the prices of branded sets have gone up by Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.
Ramesh Shrestha, general manager of CG Impex that deals on LG products said the prices of LG refrigerators have presently become expensive by around Rs 1,500, air coolers by Rs 500, microwave oven by Rs 500 and washing machine by Rs 400.
Apart from rupee depreciation, traders around valley said rise in transportation cost as well as the hike in prices by the parent companies too has prevented them from revising their prices downward.
Owing to such a situation, dealers of multiple brands in different localities said their sales have been hit. In the absence of price cut offers, they said they are facing difficulty in luring customers.
Chandra Shrestha, proprietor of TV Point that deals in home appliances of LG, Haier, Toshiba and Goderj said the store is hardly selling three units of refrigerator these days. The store also sells different brands of mobile phones such as LG, Samsung, Nokia and Sony Ericsson, among others.
Referring to the similar drop in sales, Bakhati of Jambo Electronics that deals in products of Beko, Haier, Fuji, Whirlpool, Samsung, LG and Sony said he is under intense pressure to meet his sales target.
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