“Price wars and low quality imaging consumables are corrupting the market”

Recently, Goel Imports has also been an importer and provider of PrintRite toners and OPC drums. Goel Imports deals only laser toner compatibles, but not in inks or the related consumables. Goel Imports India is a leading New Delhi-based importer, trader, supplier, wholesaler and distributor of imaging products and also office supplies like lamination machines and consumables. Goel Imports provides imaging products in bulk as well as under their own brand name Gi2. The company is led by Tarun Gupta and his son Sanyam Gupta. Excerpts of the interview:

About the comfort their new branch in Mumbai created, Tarun Gupta shares, “Earlier we used to dispatch products from our New Delhi head office, which used to take much longer to reach the faraway places in South and West India regions. Now, after our new branch and warehouse in Mumbai are opened, we are able to provide the products within a short time to our customers in South Indian states of Karnataka, Telangana, etc and also in West Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat; the supply time intervals have reduced significantly and took us several steps closer to our partners and customers.”

Goel Imports brand Gi2 is a popular brand among the customers across India and the product portfolio under the brand includes OPC drum for laser cartridges, PCR, mag roller, pressure roller, D/W Blades, toner powders and compatible toner cartridges, lamination machines, lamination pouches, etc with customer-base spread pan-India. Goel Imports also provides these products in bulk for those who need.

Sanyam Gupta shares, “Quality is our main selling point and we import from standard and tested providers from China. Our prices are affordable but not the lowest as quality comes at a cost. We have pan-India customer-base and it is growing. GST has been good as now most people are doing business with bill and this has reduced grey market significantly.”

Regarding market trends and challenges, Tarun Gupta asserts, “Cheap and low-quality, cheap goods imported from China are corrupting the market. Those refillers and remanufacturers who use low quality products are killing the market. Next, the price wars between different providers are another issue in the market. Providers are cutting prices just to make some quick money, but in the long-run this attitude will hurt everyone.

All the important players in the imaging industry and the media like Imaging Solution magazine should work together to formulate guidelines as to how to work according to a code-of-conduct to promote quality and maintain decent operating prices, instead of each industry member acting his own way. Both providers and users should concentrate more on quality and less on price. The industry players should focus on doing ethical business and shed and discourage unethical business practices. We also need some mature and strong imaging industry associations which will work objectively to bring in certain order and organize the Indian imaging industry which still remains unorganized.”

Regarding their future plans, Tarun Gupta briefs, “Currently, we are growing at an average annual rate of 20%. In future, we want to trade in higher quantities, increase our brand presence further and expand our business. Right now we are exporting to Nepal and Bhutan on a smaller scale, but in future, we want to increase our exports.”