COLORS OF DELL. Evan Williams, consumer sales and marketing general manager for South Asia of Dell Inc., shows off
the different colors of the new Dell notebooks in a press conference prior to a major consumer launch. Video taken by INQUIRER.net technology
reporter Erwin Oliva in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.
Dell enters RP consumer market By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net First Posted 17:57:00 04/10/2008
MANDALUYONG CITY, Philippines--Computer maker Dell has entered the Philippine consumer market with the rollout of new notebooks and desktops, executives told reporters on Thursday.
This was a year after Dell formed a global consumer organization that would focus on the mass market, said Evan Williams, consumer sales and marketing and general manager of South Asia of Dell Inc.
"This gave us the confidence to go to the emerging markets," Williams said, identifying the Philippines as one of these markets. Dell also plans to expand to Vietnam.
Dell is currently has operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Dell, however, is not, going direct to consumers but through local channel partners, namely Abenson and Accent Micro Products, Williams said.
In the next 18 months, the Dell executive said other consumer products will be rolled out in the country, including all-in-one printers, LCD screens, and computer peripherals.
Asked if Dell was also planning to go offer a "netbook" version, Williams said the company is still looking into this new product category of notebooks recently introduced by Intel.
A netbook is lighter notebook that provides a basic wireless Internet and computing platform.
Williams said that Dell will also offer customization services to local customers, but stressed that this plan was still far in the future.
Dell's entry in the Philippine market has also been triggered by the strong notebook sales.
"Notebooks are the fast-growing market," Williams added.
Showing off its latest notebooks that come in "flamingo pink," "sunshine yellow," and "espresso brown " colors, Dell said that the demand for more stylish and colorful notebooks was in direct response to consumer demand.
A local team is currently being formed to focus on marketing Dell products to the mass market, the executive said.
Dell notebooks will cost from P33,000 to P85,000, according to Toru Matsuura, marketing director for Asean and emerging consumer group.
The desktop products are priced from P33,000 to P67,000.
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