Dell Computer Corp Taiwan plans to target corporate users this year in a break from its traditional business model of selling directly to consumers via the Internet, but analysts were skeptical about the plan.
"In 2003 we are going to concentrate on the small-to-medium enterprises and larger corporations," Dell manager Mike Shih (
Last year Dell sold a paltry 3,400 notebook computers in Taiwan, placing it in the No.12 spot in contrast to market-leader Acer Inc with sales of 87,000 units, according to researcher Sunny Chen of International Data Corp (IDC) Taiwan. The total market for notebooks in Taiwan was just shy of 440,000 last year. "Dell has been quiet in Taiwan, and has a lot of room to improve," Chen said.
Its strong global brand should help it increase sales in Taiwan, she added.
But the market for corporate sales may not be there.
"I do not think this strategy will be successful in Taiwan," said Jonathan Chen (
Others said Dell's sales in Taiwan were insignificant. "I don't think this strategy will contribute much to Dell's overall sales," said Frank Su (
One possible area of growth is companies looking to replace older models this year, and Intel's aggressive marketing of its wireless Internet technology could convince them to opt for a notebook like the new series Dell launched at yesterday's event, Su said.
Dell's new D-Series of notebook computers is based on the latest Centrino computer chips which Intel launched last Wednesday. The chips also include power-saving features that increase the battery life of notebook computers by an extra hour to last four hours, marketing manager Doreen Ko said yesterday.
Local notebook sales are expected to grow by about a quarter this year, so Dell may be able to get a bigger slice of the market than it had last year.
IDC predicts a growth rate of 24 percent in the Taiwan notebook market this year. The corporate market accounted for 53 percent of the total last year.
A deciding factor in the success of Dell's strategy might be the hefty price tag for the new notebook computers. The D600 model with a 14.1-inch screen will sell for NT$67,300 and the D800 15.4-inch model NT$79,400. "Taiwan is very price sensitive," IDC's Chen said.
And in the current economy, companies are looking to cut corners.
"With tight corporate IT [information technology] budgets, I think they would buy two cheaper models instead," SinoPac's Chen said.
"I think it is a fair price for corporations, but too expensive for consumers" Su said. "Of course, it depends how much Dell offers for this price."
Shih said yesterday that Dell Taiwan would offer a complete after-sales service package to corporations. Dell does not offer after-sales service in other markets.
By comparison, Acer Inc charges NT$65,900 for its 14.1-inch model and NT$79,900 for its 15-inch model, a source at the company confirmed yesterday.
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