CEO: Ajai Choudhary START-UP YEAR: 1976 NO OF PARTNERS: 900 BRANCHES: 15 PRODUCTS & SERVICES: Desktops, servers, notebooks, networking products and services ADDRESS: E 4, 5, 6, Sector 11, NOIDA 201 301. TEL: 4550873, 4521253, 4520977 FAX: 4550923, 4555219 WEBSITE: ww.hclinfosystems.com  POINTERS TO PERFORMANCE Focused on home retail  Devised easy financing options POINTERS TO FUTURE Greater retail network reach  Move to C and D type towns

With the number of partners swelling from 100 to 900, HCL Infosystems has realized more need not necessarily be merrier. A balance must be struck between quality and quantity as far as partners are concerned. This is precisely why the company will increase business with existing partners, rather than recruiting some more. 

HCL retained it 5th rank in the Silver Club despite a negative growth of 15 percent. This can primarily be attributed to the fact that the company sold solutions with its own hardware rather than depending on other vendors. But still, overall revenues of the company saw a healthy growth of 28 percent.

On the cards for this fiscal is an aggressive channel expansion. Officials are however tight-lipped about exact details. "We will move to C and D class towns to address the home user there," is all that Rajender Kumar, VP (Operations) has to say on the subject. 

"Bundling was undertaken to create brand appeal for the target market and induce complete PC experience," he adds. The success of this tactical venture has infused it with a confidence to carry it on. 

Partners were active participants in all strategies of the company. In fact, moving partners up the value chain was a principal area of concern for all channel managers at HCL. 

Anticipating that notebooks will be the next growth area, HCL is engaged in developing a channel for Toshiba notebooks even in upcountry markets. Last quarter, the company saw an increasing penetration of notebooks in the SME and the SOHO space. 

PCs remained the key focus area for the company. It signed up with Viveks and VGP retail chains down south to add strength to its retailing effort, as the home segment is the next growth frontier for PCs. 

This fiscal, HCL retail outlets will see a jump from the exiting network of 100 outlets to 180. HCL has also tied up with several finance companies to provide easy financing options for the home user.

It further strengthened its value-for-money positioning by relaunching its Beanstalk range of Home PCs. The wider range has a variant that is available for all price points starting from entry-level to the high-end for the demanding home user. HCL ran a first of its kind contest for MSN users and also started it own online retail initiative, eHCLstore.com. 

It also jointly launched an e-business solutions program with Intel. This program will target new market opportunities in segments like ISP, ASP, finance and banking segments, by partnering with select ISV, e-business solution providers and consultants. 

It set up a managed off-shore development center at its Noida software development facility for Stratech Systems Limited, a Singapore-based IT systems and technology developer. 

HCL plans to tide over the rough market scene with micro segmentation of the home market. Expecting further drop in the price points for PCs, it is all ready with its multi -price point approach. "The organization has enough experience to tide through the ups and downs," puts Kumar eloquently.