Dell to use dealers to sell personal computers-WSJ
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Dell Computer Corp.<DELL.O> is
expected to begin offering an unbranded desktop personal
computer to dealers, a move outside its long-held tactic of
direct sales, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
In targeting dealers, Dell is hoping to move into the
market where no-name computers put together from parts from
various suppliers and tailored to a customer's specific needs,
still take sales from large suppliers, the paper said.
White-box PCs have maintained about a 30 percent share of
the U.S. PC market despite the sweeping consolidation among the
top suppliers, including Hewlett-Packard's <HPQ.N> purchase of
Compaq Computer earlier this year.
Dell estimates that no-name PCs sold by small dealers are a
$3 billion a year U.S. market.
Frank Muehleman, senior vice president of Dell's
small-business division, was quoted as saying the company's
goals are modest, aiming for perhaps $380 million in new
revenue in the next 12 months.
Longer term, it could expand beyond desktop PCs to offer
notebook and server computers to that market, vastly expanding
its scope, according to the Journal.
((Nick Olivari, New York newsdesk, 646-223-6000))
REUTERS
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