Guys it is easy to talk about margins and the killing dealers/distributors make, but why doesn't anyone discuss overhead costs these people face. What is the rent they pay, electricity, salaries etc (Electricity cost in India is highest in the world and Govt. electricity company service is perhaps the worst in the world, hence so many generators around) not to mention pressure from the Manufacturer to sell more and more and pay upfront for inventory? Running a small business honestly in India is perhaps the toughest in the world - all the corruption and other bs one has to deal with (like chandaas at festival time etc., local goons demanding haftaa, locals cops demanding their cut, excise offcials demanding their cut, IT offcials demanding their cut etc., etc.)? So I can say with 100% confidence (since I am running a small business) none of the dealers, distributors are making a huge profit, agreed margins are high but please look at sales volumes (which is miniscule in audio/video and cannot be compared to car industry, India is the 5th largest passenger car market in the world so there is enough sales volume to reduce pricing to an acceptable level - transport is a necessity, not a luxury like Audio, Video ) and cost of doing business in India. It is easy to say reduce price and customers will come, but not everybody is Jio, cut prices so the competitor is out of business (with huge Govt. support of-course) - not to mention the government's GST cut of 18-28% - which again is amongst the highest in the world and increases final sale price to a very high level. I support local dealers whenever I can, but my issue with them is not so much pricing as the service they offer. The bigger issue imo is even if a consumer is willing to pay highly inflated pricing in hope of better service when required, especially at warranty time or when some paid repair is required, there is hardly any support available - which doesn't cost much, kind words, efficient repair, timely communication etc. This is inexcusable and that is what has to be remedied - and one of the reasons I hardly buy any more equipment locally.
Cheers,
Sid