Coronavirus rattles the supply chain in India’s largest electronics market, hitting mobile accessories more than new phones

• Shopkeepers in Nehru Place, India’s largest electronics market, are reporting only minor issues in the supply of new phones so far.
  
• Vendors point to problems with the fresh supply of Vivo and Apple phones in particular.
  
• More than phones, the crunch in the supply of mobile accessories poses a bigger problem.
  

The coronavirus outbreak is disrupting global tech conferences. In India, 29 cases of the infection have been confirmed with new reports coming in from the national capital New Delhi which is home to Nehru Place, the country's largest electronics market.

Shopkeepers in the area report that footfall has already been sparse due to last month's violence in northeast Delhi. The coronavirus hasn't impacted foot fall but vendors are reporting supply issues. Even though they have plenty of phones in stock, fresh handsets from China are in short supply according to shopkeepers in Nehru Place that spoke to Business Insider.

“There have been some issues with bringing in a fresh supply of Xiaomi phones but our existing supply is comfortable,” said Ranjeet Singh, the manager for one of five Go Mobile stores in Nehru Place.

Companies like Oppo and Samsung that have their own assembly plants set up in India have largely been sheltered from any immediate impact on the supply chain from the coronavirus outbreak. However, the same cannot be said when it comes to accessories — headphones, chargers, mobile covers, screen guards, and SD cards.

“We have had some issues with bringing new supply for Vivo and Apple. The highest effect has been on accessories because they aren’t manufactured in India,” said Singh. Accessories sell faster than handsets and supply is likely to run out faster according to sources. A TOI report states that other parts of the city are feeling the crunch as well. Traders in Noida are afraid that their stocks will run out by the end of the month. Fearing the worst, vendors are hiking prices for mobile accessories.

New phones won’t run out just yet
Most vendors say that they are comfortable with the supply they have in store. However, one of them said that handset prices are being jacked up.

“Wholesalers are increasing prices expecting a supply crunch in the near future,” Neeraj Kumar, the manager of Logica, an independent authorised dealer in Nehru Place.

“Oppo and Samsung are fine. But there have been issues with Vivo… We have what we have, new supply is an issue,” he added.

The China-based smartphone manufacturer Vivo is set to launch the Vivo V19 and Vivo V19 Pro later this month. While the company representatives in shops across the market are confident that the phone will launch as per schedule, third-party vendors aren’t so sure.

“The Vivo V19 will launch either on March 16 or 17, maximum by March 20,” said Farhan, a representative for Vivo at one of the stores.

There were also rumours of OnePlus delaying the launch of their latest smartphone. However, a company spokesperson told IANS that the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro and the OnePlus 8 Lite will be unveiled as scheduled — in late March or early April.

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