Dell makes headway in RP consumer market--execs
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:54:00 07/01/2008
Filed Under: Technology (general), Hardware
MAKATI City, Philippines -- Computer maker Dell has finally made headway into the local consumer market, executives said here.
Traditionally a strong player in the corporate segment, Dell executives said the company has seen its notebook unit sales grow by about 95 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of the fiscal year, which started April 2008, according to Paul-Henri Ferrand, president of Dell for Asia Pacific and South Asia which includes countries in Asia Pacific excluding Australia, Japan, South Korea, and China.
Ferrand said Dell's more aggressive pursuit of the consumer market in emerging countries like the Philippines is part of its turnaround initiated by Michael Dell, its chief executive officer, who wanted to penetrate the consumer business worldwide.
Barry Bunyi, Dell Asia Pacific director and country manager for the Philippines, added that local notebook sales have driven the consumer business of the computer vendor in the country.
Working through retail partners, Bunyi said local shops are selling an average of 200 units a week during April and May this year alone.
The computer vendor has partnered with Accent Micro Products, Octagon and Abenson, which have a total of 200 stores combined.
Ferrand said the industry expects notebook sales to overrun desktop sales worldwide in 2009 because of the global trend toward mobility.
There are around 25 countries covered by Dell in Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is a $2-billion business, according to Ferrand.
Dell, however, is not yet offering custom-made orders via the web for Filipino consumers, which has been the practice in the United States, Bunyi said.
Local consumers are offered basic configurations of computer systems that they can customize in retail shops, the executive said.
"The Philippines is a bright spot for us," Ferrand said, adding that the country is among the countries showing growth in computer systems sold, led by notebooks, in emerging markets.
Asked whether Dell is considering entering the low-cost notebook market segment, Ferrand said the computer vendor is very interested in this specific market, but he declined to comment any further.
"Let's just wait and see," he said. "We thank Asus for spending money to create this new notebook category."
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