Aided by demonitization and the Indian government’s emphasis on taking the country digital, 2017 was undoubtedly the year of the ‘online’. The past few years have witnessed the meteoric rise of e-Commerce which has put brick and mortar stores across the country at a rather disadvantageous position. However, the retail market still holds immense potential. Aiding consumer electronic retail & Mobility stores stand their own against competition from online majors is Rhythm Corner Alaknanda (RCA), a distribution company that renders products and solutions related to gadgets. “Although we are intermediaries and do not control prices, we partner with brands to ensure uniform pricing enforcement to keep retailer interest alive,” explains Pankaj Mirchandani, CEO, RCA. Emphasising on harbouring trust and stability among its clientele, the company helps retailers make educated decisions within their category I.e. Lifestyle Gadget Accessories.

Dedicated & Well Trained Manforce
RCA commenced its operations in

the consumer electronics industry in 1969 and forayed into the domain of distribution in 1997. Employing well trained individuals, the company’s manpower not only possesses selling skills but is also armed with the technical know-how required to guide its clients in the right direction. The company does not just focus on moving boxes but is committed to rendering solution-based selling to retailers. RCA is also careful while selecting partner brands with complimenting categories that do not conflict with one another.

The company does not just focus on moving boxes but is committed to rendering solution-based selling to retailers

“We have four major channels of distribution – General Trade, Large format Retail, Apple Community and Online,” elaborates Pankaj. Since the skill set needed to cater to each channel’s service level requirements is different, RCA has a separate dedicated team for each of them. LFR & Apple channel are serviced directly by RCA as they require the service levels of the highest standard. While the general trade channel has city wise distribution and sub distribution partners serviced by RCA’s team in each city, the online channel is serviced by a controlled & specialized lot of resellers.

Reaching Beyond the Ordinary
Fundamentally, distribution is about

going as deep and wide as possible in terms of making ones product available. RCA caters to over 2500 shops PAN India and has an interesting mix of stores that it reaches. Other than partnering with consumer electronic giants such as Croma, the company also works with Apple Stores, Airport retailers like Relay, WHSmith, Buddy, Flemingo and a few Delhi Metro stores as well. The firm has also moved beyond clients on the ground and has partnered with Indigo for inflight sales. “The After market for Car Accessories is another specialized channel that we penetrate in some cities,” adds Pankaj. Additionally, the company also caters to regional mobility chains such as Poorvika, Big C & LOT who also carry its products. The company also works with most online giants such as Flipkart, Amazon, PayTM and Tata Cliq.

Building on Illustrious Legacy
Having been in the industry for over 50 years, the RCA brand has achieved various milestones and is now on an aggressive growth spree for the new FY. The firm is ramping up its infrastructure and back-end to make it more robust and customer centric. Looking to reposition itself from being a trading house to a brand, RCA’s emphasis is to train and retain its employees on the ‘customer first’ philosophy. With new channels, markets and product categories in the pipeline, RCA is gearing towards accelerated growth in the next FY.