Like all major constituents of the OOH business, digital display solution providers have faced the brunt of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown. As China had been the source point for import of LED components and modules, several digital display solution providers started to face business challenges much earlier than other segments of OOH business.

Amit Bahl, Director, Kan Universal told Media4Growth that sales enquiries are now down 30% at about 5 a day, and those too are seemingly not business-generating. However, he is hopeful that the existing orders will go through post the lockdown. The firm has received deposits from the clients for meeting the orders, and the delivery and installation will commence as soon as the lockdown ends. Currently, even if the shipment lands from China, there is precious little that can be done in the face of the lockdown. Amit also referred to the challenge of finding labour once work resumes because of the reverse migration that happened in recent days in the main cities.

Osel Technology appears to view the current situation with a tinge of optimism. As the company has its own manufacturing set-up, there is no dependence on imports. Jyotsna Jawahar, Director, Osel Technology hopes to capitalise on the ‘Make in India’ thrust that the government is likely to focus upon in the aftermath of the disruption in global supply chains. She sees demand for shop signages picking up quickly in the shorter run.

On the demand front, Amit said that while the OOH industry would take a longer time to place fresh orders for digital signages, the government could float more tenders for installation of digital displays.