Kemble, thought you might get a kick out of this...just read it on the wires tonight:
New Delhi, India, September 27, 2000 (Bloomberg):Michael Dell arrives in New Delhi after visiting Japan, China and Hong Kong, and later today plans to unveil the company's plan to sell to customers directly. So far, the company has been relying on a distributor to sell its products in India.
Dell, which has been affected by slowing sales is looking to Asian markets to fuel growth. Second-quarter sales at the company grew a less-than-forecast 25 percent. Sales in the U.S. and Latin America rose 27 percent, while European sales climbed 10 percent. The company reported a 48 percent increase in sales from Asia.
India presents a huge opportunity for Dell, and other such computer makers, said Vinnie Mehta, director of the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology, or MAIT, in New Delhi. ``Our PC penetration is 4.5 per thousand, which we expect to grow to 20 per thousand by 2008.''
MAIT expects computer sales to grow 43 percent to 2 million units by March 2001, from 1.4 million units in the year ended March 2000. As much as 23 percent of computers sold are those of Compaq Computer Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.
Dell has so far invested $2.5 million in its Indian subsidiary and plans to invest more, although the company spokeswoman wouldn't say how much. |
