Money
Mobile expos bloom in Kathmandu
As the festive season descends upon us, many of us are feeling the itch to spend our hard earned money.Abhishek Chitrakar
As the festive season descends upon us, many of us are feeling the itch to spend our hard earned money. And it is no surprise that the bulk of most companies sales occur during the festival period. Mobile phones in particular, are a hot ticket item for most people and various mobile expos have been organised in the Capital to attract potential buyers. This has resulted in more mobile expos being held in the Capital.
The festive period of Dashain and Tihar is the ideal time for people to pick up a new mobile phone as companies will offer discounts and other goodies upon purchase.
One of the largest mobile expo is at Tamrakar Mobile Complex, located at New Road in the Valley. The complex houses the most diverse range of companies selling mobile phones. If you need a spare part, chances are you will find it at Tamrakar Mobile Complex. The “Dashain Tihar ko bahar Tamrakar ma mobile kinda upahar nai upahar” fair started on September 7 and will continue till October 26.
Tamrakar Mobile Traders Association organised the fair with over 50 stores taking part. Lenovo and Motorola are the sponsors. Customers will get discounts ranging from 5 to 60 percent at the fair.
Smartphones such as the Samsung S4 and S5 can be bought by customers for cheap, as a 60 percent discount have been applied on these phones. Huawei is also offering the Honor Holly with a 40 percent discount. Likewise, 20 to 60 percent discount is provided on every purchase of Lenovo phones.
Customers who purchase phone at the expo will be entered into a lucky draw where two people stand a chance to win the bumper prize—a Suzuki Gixxer motorbike. One lucky customer will receive a Suzuki scooter. Every day, customers stand a chance to win mobile phones, bluetooth headset and power bank. And a 32-inch LCD TV will be presented to one customer every weekend.
“Dashian is the festival when people splurge on shopping and buy goods for themselves. Over the years, people have also started buying mobile phones during the festive season,” said Guru Datta Sharma, secretary of the Tamrakar Mobile Traders Association, the organiser of the exhibition.
While Tamraka Mobile Complex is the de facto place for people to buy new mobile phones, companies such as Lalitpur Mobile Complex and KL Mobile are organising their own mobile expos to attract customers.
Lalitpur Mobile Complex recently concluded the 4th Lalitpur Mobile Expo held at Lalitpur Mall, on Sept 11. Discounts of up to 70 percent were given to customers at the Lalitpur Mobile Expo. Customers received free gifts like power bank, memory card, bluetooth headphone, selfie stick and speakers at the expo with every mobile phone purchase.
Purushottam Basnet, president of Lalitpur Mobile Complex said that Nepal’s biggest multibrand mobile showroom which is situated in the complex, organised this expo to celebrate the festive season with customers. “Costumers knows that only quality and branded mobile phones are available here. Now we want to make our customers happy with exciting gifts,” said Basnet.
Lalitpur Mobile Complex which is situated in Lalitpur Mall, Lagankhel is Nepal’s first multibrand mobile showroom where customers can get a wide range of devices in one location. More than 40 mobile showrooms and authorised service centres are being operated on the second floor of Lalitpur Mall.
KL Mobile Hub is another company to organise their own mobile expo. Located at Chabahil, Kathmandu, the company launched “KL Mobile Mega Mela” to celebrate Dashain and Tihar with customers. Customers will be able to lower the cost price of new phones by exchanging their old, damaged phones at the fair. With every purchase, customers will receive a random gift.
The bumper prize at this fair includes not one but two prizes. One lucky customer will receive the latest iPhone 8 while another will win a trip to Malaysia and Singapore.