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Dell Plans to Sell PCs at Wal-Mart

Posted by Zonk on from the just-a-bit-outside-the-norm dept.

DJAdapt writes "In a departure from Dell's approach of selling machines only directly to customers, a Dell spokesman said Thursday that the computer maker will begin selling two of its Dimension desktop computers in about 3,000 Wal-Marts beginning June 10. Dell spokesman Dwayne Cox said the Wal-Mart deal 'represents our first step' into global retail. 'Customers want more and new ways to buy our products, and we plan on meeting their needs on a global level,' Cox said. 'Offering Dell Dimensions in Wal-Mart is a great example of this approach.'"

3 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. Increase sales volume, destroy the brand by traindirector · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This screams "We want to be the #1 North American computer seller again and we'll just have to deal with the negative effects of that on margins and brand perception".

    I'm sure they'll sell a ton of these because of the nature of Wal-Mart, but this seems like a horrible move in terms of the perception it will create about the Dell brand. I can see those who know little about computers who are looking for quality rather than bargain basement pricing steering away from Dell because they will be the new "cheap Wal-Mart computers". Dell will surely be offering low-end models and will make even less on them because a portion of the purchase price goes to Wal-Mart.

    I imagine they're going with Wal-Mart because

    • Wal-Mart takes less of their profit margin than a Best Buy or Circuit City
    • it's a quick way to sell a lot of computers
    • pushing up sheer quantity of computer sales to achieve the highest number is their primary goal at the moment.

    Either I'm missing something or this is a short-sighted move.

    1. Re:Increase sales volume, destroy the brand by SEAL · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Either I'm missing something or this is a short-sighted move.

      You're missing the minor point that HP is killing Dell lately, and HP sells most of their computers through traditional brick&mortar channels. Dell is trying to get back in the game.

  2. Sold at Wal-Mart != low quality by tepples · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can see those who know little about computers who are looking for quality rather than bargain basement pricing steering away from Dell because they will be the new "cheap Wal-Mart computers". Any more than a PLAYSTATION 3 video game console is perceived as the "cheap Wal-Mart console"?

    Dell [...] will make even less on them because a portion of the purchase price goes to Wal-Mart. As opposed to a portion of the purchase price going to DHL (or whatever shipping company Dell uses)?