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Dixons has hit back at Intel after the chip giant's CEO claimed the UK retailer charges "ridiculous margins" for PCs. Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel, made the comments at Comdex/Fall yesterday, backed up by senior VP Paul Otellini. Barrett, when he visited London last, cavilled at European sales and made references to some outlets selling product at higher than necessary prices. But his latest statement seems surprisingly blunt, and will deepen the perception that Intel is losing marketshare to clone x86 chip makers, including AMD and Cyrix. That, at least, is Dixons view. A Dixons statement said the group "can make no sense of this comment" but added that Intel was losing marketshare in its stores, which include superstores PC World and Currys. "What is really happening is that we are selling more PCs in our stores that have non-Intel chips in them and their market share has fallen considerably," the statement said. The Dixons Group introduced its first sub-£500 PC on 30 October 30, powered by a Cyrix processor, as first revealed here. But last week Asda joined the rush to sell PCs through its chain of supermarkets and described "some retailers" as selling units at too high a price. Intel announcements over the last few weeks show that the company is taking the entire budget PC market seriously as its market share is eroded by competitors. ®

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