Dell Inc, the second-biggest PC maker in the world, has started selling a cheap model in China to expand in a market where more than 90 percent of the population doesn't own PCs.
The computer, powered by an Intel Corp processor, was set be sold for between 2,599 yuan (US$336) and 3,999 yuan starting yesterday, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said in a statement issued in Shanghai.
The price is 69 percent cheaper than the lowest priced model on Dell's China Web site.
PHOTO: AFP
Dell is seeking to bolster sales through low-cost computers in developing markets as earnings growth slowed. Founder Michael Dell returned as chief executive officer in January to help the company regain the market lead after losing it to Hewlett-Packard Co in the fourth quarter last year.
"Faster sales growth in China could really give Dell a boost because of how big the market is and how much potential it has," William Bao Bean, an analyst with Deutsche Securities Co in Hong Kong, said before the briefing. "Smaller cities and towns are really where the growth is in China because incomes are rising and people are shopping for their first computers."
He rates Lenovo Group Ltd (
"We have a lot of opportunity" in the consumer market, Michael Dell told reporters in Shanghai yesterday.
"You'll see a lot more products" like the new PC introduced today, he said.
Dell is visiting Shanghai to introduce the new model and meet with customers.
The new computer, developed in China, consumes less electricity, takes up less work space and was made with first-time users in mind, the company said.
The company is also looking to sell the same computer in other emerging markets such as India and Brazil, said Alex Yung, Dell's China head of small business sales.
Michael Dell said yesterday the company also plans to buy companies to boost its services unit, helping to expand sales outside of its main business of selling PCs. The services business, which includes setting up computer networks and providing customer support, has annual sales of about US$6 billion.
"I'd expect to see acquisitions there," Michael Dell said.
He didn't identify countries or target companies.
About seven in 100 people own PCs in China, compared with two in 100 for India, the company said on Tuesday.
About 25 million PCs were sold in China last year, four times the 6 million in India, it said.
Dell's revenue in China rose 26 percent in the last fiscal year, it said in the release, without specifying an amount. In the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2, the Americas accounted for 61 percent of Dell's sales, down from 64 percent a year earlier.
Asia accounted for 12 percent for both periods.
Shares of Dell rose 0.3 percent to US$22.53 on the New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Tuesday. The stock has gained 5.1 percent in the past six months.
The company ousted former CEO Kevin Rollins after less than three years and reinstated founder Dell on Jan. 31, the same day it said sales and profit would miss forecasts for the fourth quarter.
Net income for the quarter ended Feb. 2 fell 37 percent to US$637 million from US$1.01 billion a year earlier, while sales declined to US$14.4 billion from US$15.2 billion, the company reported. The earnings are preliminary because of an accounting investigation.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS