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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Meathead who wrote (23498)	11/28/1997 4:32:00 PM
From: Meathead	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

This snippet from the article pretty much clears up any confusion anyone may have about Dell's position on the sub $1000 PC. M. Dell is even more pessisimistic about the lifecycle of the 1KPC than I am... Dell is after the knowledgeable consumer who knows what they want and wants lots of it. Dell is not interested in the low end of this market. Its lowest-priced system for the home comes in at $1,700. Contrast this with Compaq's entry-level home system, a less powerful machine priced at $1,080 with a monitor. So-called sub-$1,000 machines made by Compaq, Acer, Packard Bell NECand others are flying off the shelves. Dell knows it has no advantage there. Dell does hope many low-end customers will eventually want to upgrade to higher-end machines. It expects that, having become more computer- literate, they will shop on the Internet. "It's my belief that the replacement cycle of a new sub-$1,000 customer is-at worst-18 months," says Dell's chief financial officer, Thomas Meredith. "It's one of the richest opportunities ever handed to us," he says. Won't customers who buy cheap machines from Compaq and others stick with those brands when it's time to replace them? Replies Paul Bell, head of Dell's new consumer division: "Our research shows there just isn't a lot of brand loyalty." MEATHEAD