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


To: J. D. Main who wrote (106009)3/1/1999 7:46:00 PM
From: Patrick E.McDaniel  Respond to of 176387
 
JD, her you go.

news.com

Dell to launch online "superstore"
By Jim Davis
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 1, 1999, 4:05 p.m. PT
URL: news.com

Dell Computer wants to be your shopping portal.

Michael Dell, the company's CEO, will unveil on Wednesday a new online shopping site offering thousands of computer
products from a variety of vendors. Dell's effort is expected to largely mirror efforts by other PC vendors to transform
themselves into one-stop resellers of both PCs and related equipment.

The new online store is expected to be aimed at home and small business customers, and will offer "the latest in hardware,
software and computer add-ons," according to a teaser ad on Dell's Web site. Recently, Dell has registered two domain
names, "Gigabuys.com" and "Terabuys.com," as well as variations on those domains that are possible names for the new stores.

With the announcement, Dell officially joins the ranks of PC players who are looking to create ongoing revenue streams to
offset ever-decreasing PC prices.

Just last week, Gateway purchased a stake in the online division of NECX, a Massachusetts-based reseller of PC equipment
and software in an effort to rope in additional purchases that might have gone to a traditional brick-and-mortar reseller down
the block.

Compaq is pursuing a similar strategy, having announced its intention to acquire online vendor Shopping.com. The company
hopes to steer users of its AltaVista portal to its own shopping site.

The need to expand comes from increasing competition in the market for large corporate customers, say analysts. Dell's growth
rocketed skyward in this segment for over two years and enjoyed an especially strong first half of 1998 when many other
vendors were dealing with inventory problems. But now, concerns about how Dell and other PC vendors can continue to grow
while maintaining profitability are mounting. The new venture is hoped to be a means to bolster the balance sheet.

Dell talked about its efforts to sell third party products in its recent conference call with analysts. While the company is
positioning this as a service for consumers, Dell executives and other direct PC execs have said that third party products are
going to increasingly become a part of the bottom line.

"Soon we will be offering an expanded range of software and peripherals," said Dell CFO Tom Meredith in a conference call
with analysts, calling the upcoming service a "new store."

Currently, Dell customers can get third party products, such as switches or software, through the company's DellWare site.
DellWare, however, is not heavily marketed. DellWare is listed at the bottom of Dell's product offerings and few links connect
web pages that allow users to purchase PCs with the DellWare site. Blink, and you might miss it. DellWare orders are largely
managed and fulfilled by distributor Ingram Micro, according to Ingram executives.

So far, it is not known whether Dell will take a similar approach to the new site, or if it would make a strategic acquisition in the
ecommerce arena.

The new service seems destined to enjoy a much higher profile. The service will be "an initial foray," according to a Dell
spokesman. "This is beyond what we are doing with DellWare," while declining to comment further.

Dell executives were speaking about third party product expansion already at last year's Fall Comdex trade show, even before
earnings were leveling off to a less stratospheric earnings growth of roughly by 49 percent for the most recently completed
quarter.

"It would not surprise me in the future if the No. 1 distributor for HP printers is Dell," Joe Marengi, senior vice president and
group general manager at Dell told CNET at Comdex last year. Dell, he added, is already the third largest reseller of enterprise
software licenses for Microsoft.

Pat



To: J. D. Main who wrote (106009)3/1/1999 7:52:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 176387
 
This just in- Dell to launch ONLINE SUPERSTORE (From CNET News)

JD: You mean this?
=============================

Dell to launch online "superstore"

By Jim Davis
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 1, 1999, 4:05 p.m. PT

Dell Computer wants to be your shopping portal.

Michael Dell, the company's CEO, will unveil on Wednesday a new online shopping site offering thousands of computer products from a variety of vendors. Dell's effort is expected to largely mirror efforts by other PC vendors to transform themselves into one-stop resellers of both PCs and related equipment.

The new online store is expected to be aimed at home and small business customers, and will offer "the latest in hardware, software and computer add-ons," according to a teaser ad on Dell's Web site.

Recently, Dell has registered two domain names, "Gigabuys.com" and "Terabuys.com," as well as variations on those domains that are possible names for the new stores.

With the announcement, Dell officially joins the ranks of PC players who are looking to create ongoing revenue streams to offset ever-decreasing PC prices.

Just last week, Gateway purchased a stake in the online division of NECX, a Massachusetts-based reseller of PC equipment and software in an effort to rope in additional purchases that might have gone to a traditional brick-and-mortar reseller down the block.

Compaq is pursuing a similar strategy, having announced its intention to acquire online vendor Shopping.com. The company hopes to steer users of its AltaVista portal to its own shopping site.

The need to expand comes from increasing competition in the market for large corporate customers, say analysts. Dell's growth rocketed skyward in this segment for over two years and enjoyed an especially strong first half of 1998 when many other vendors were dealing with inventory problems. But now, concerns about how Dell and other PC vendors can continue to grow while maintaining profitability are mounting. The new venture is hoped to be a means to bolster the balance sheet.

Dell talked about its efforts to sell third party products in its recent conference call with analysts. While the company is positioning this as a service for consumers, Dell executives and other direct PC execs have said that third party products are going to increasingly become a part of the bottom line.

"Soon we will be offering an expanded range of software and peripherals," said Dell CFO Tom Meredith in a conference call with analysts, calling the upcoming service a "new store."

Currently, Dell customers can get third party products, such as switches or software, through the company's DellWare site. DellWare, however, is not heavily marketed. DellWare is listed at the bottom of Dell's product offerings and few links connect web pages that allow users to purchase PCs with the DellWare site. Blink, and you might miss it. DellWare orders are largely managed and fulfilled by distributor Ingram Micro, according to Ingram executives.

So far, it is not known whether Dell will take a similar approach to the new site, or if it would make a strategic acquisition in the ecommerce arena.

The new service seems destined to enjoy a much higher profile. The service will be "an initial foray," according to a Dell spokesman. "This is beyond what we are doing with DellWare," while declining to comment further.

Dell executives were speaking about third party product expansion already at last year's Fall Comdex trade show, even before earnings were leveling off to a less stratospheric earnings growth of roughly by 49 percent for the most recently completed quarter.

"It would not surprise me in the future if the No. 1 distributor for HP printers is Dell," Joe Marengi, senior vice president and group general manager at Dell told CNET at Comdex last year. Dell, he added, is already the third largest reseller of enterprise software licenses for Microsoft.




To: J. D. Main who wrote (106009)3/1/1999 8:07:00 PM
From: H.A.M.  Respond to of 176387
 
Dell Computer to Unveil Web Site Aimed at Boosting Online Sales

Round Rock, Texas, March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Dell Computer Corp., the No. 1 direct seller of personal computers, this week will unveil a new site on the Internet aimed at selling a broad range of computer equipment straight to consumers.

Company founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell plans to announce the move Wednesday morning in a presentation that will be aired live on the Internet from San Francisco. He will give a walk-through of the store and officially open it.

The site will be an ''online source for some of the latest in hardware, software and computer add-ons'' from various manufacturers, Dell said in a notice on its Internet site.

Dell, which already sells more than $14 million worth of computers a day on its existing Web site, is trying to boost sales by offering a one-stop shop to buy PC equipment, such as printers and storage devices, online. The plan comes a week after rival Gateway 2000 Inc. bought a stake in NECX, a closely held Internet vendor of computer gear.

Gateway and NECX plan to start an Internet site called SpotShop.com to sell Gateway products and computer equipment that goes along with them. Gateway said it has the option to buy all of NECX's online retail business in the future.

Dell and Gateway are taking steps to stay ahead of rivals that are adopting their strategy of selling PCs straight to consumers over the telephone and the Internet.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell last month reported that sales rose a smaller-than-expected 38 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 29, marking the first time in nine quarters that sales didn't increase more than 50 percent.

Dell shares rose 7/16 to 80 9/16. They reached a record high of 110 on Feb. 2. Shares of North Sioux City, South Dakota-based Gateway fell 1 11/16 to 71. They reached a high of 84 1/2 on Feb. 23, and have risen 25 percent in three months.

18:53:56 03/01/1999