Dell to take retail route to sell PCs in India

Dell, which was solely banking on online sales since the 1990s, is planning to take the retail and channel partner route in India during CY 2008.

The world's second-largest maker of personal computers, will however, continue with its direct-selling model in India, in addition to retailing its products.

Speaking on the sidelines of Infocom 2008 in Kolkata, Pallab Talukdar, director-enterprise business, Dell India, said: "So far, we were concentrating only on the direct-selling model via the web and telephone in order to ensure a positive customer experience that we could control and customise. But, now we are looking at retailing our products and enterprise services too."

Dell has already tied up with a few retailers in Singapore and South Korea and now plans to rollout its enterprise services and products as well as consumer products such as desktops and notebooks at retail outlets in the country.

In May 2007, Dell formed its first agreement to sell computers at retail outlets with Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, after founder Michael Dell built the company by shunning store shelves and selling directly to consumers via the web and telephone.

The PC maker followed up by signing deals with Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings, China's biggest electronics retailer, and Japan's Bic Camera.

This is a significant strategic shift, ostensibly prompted by founder Michael Dell's return to the company early this year.

In a bid to regain some of its lost momentum to Hewlett Packard globally, the retail channel is seen as a logical way to grow sales.

In this context, India is a huge market. Dell expects revenues from the country to double, touching the $1 billion mark (around Rs 4,000 crore) from the current Rs 2,500 crore by 2008-09.