Dell flees sinking US economy on quick boat to China
PCs tailored for migrant workers
Dell will significantly raise its stakes in the booming economies of China and India as the company braces for lackluster growth in the US.
The world's number two PC vendor said it's developing new product models made specifically with Asian buyers in mind, and will increase its presence in the region.
"This year, we plan to introduce 50 per cent more notebook platforms than we introduced last year, including exciting new products aimed exactly at Chinese customer needs," CEO Michael Dell said at a news conference in Beijing today.
Dell said the PCs will meet "specifically the requirements that we see in countries like China and India," according to the Associated Press.
The company will also increase computer components purchased in China by 28 per cent this year to $23bn. It expects expand its presence to 1,200 cities in China by the end of this year — up from only 45 in 2007. Dell previously built up its Chinese armada by agreeing to sell computers through the local retail mega-chain Gome.
In its fourth quarter, Dell's sales in China grew by 54 per cent year-over-year. That compares with a 20 per cent domestic growth rate. Dell may not be number one, but it can still do the math.
"As far as the US goes, I think the US will be OK, but not the fastest-growing. We expect more growth in Asia," said Dell.
The company said it will also donate $210,000 to build six education centers in China to teach computer proficiency to children of migrant workers. Better make that laptop proficiency. ®
COMMENTS
Ding Dong Dell
Dear Anonymous Coward.(The one saying Thank you Dell)
You say " buy anything you like AS LONG AS IT'S A DELL ".
You stopped taking the Pills,haven't you ! Get back to them immediately , before
you become totally unhinged.
Thank you Dell
I don't know why "Anonymous Coward" has such a problem.
I have been in the computer industry since 1967 and supporting PC users since 1983.
I have suffered the crap produced by the likes of Acer, Siemens and IBM for years. When anyone askes what should they buy, I say spend as much as you can on the hardware (especially RAM), but buy anything you like AS LONG AS IT'S A DELL.
Is the title even accurate?
I read the title and assumed that Dell were really fleeing the US. What the hell are el reg playing at when they don't follow up with a story to match? I agree with Dave Harris as this incensed me with rage until I read the full story.
Hold your @#$%
These days when a company announces expansion in China or India or Vietnam they also mean layoffs elsewhere. Some bint is going to get a fat bonus over the so called cost savings of moving from "expensive" Western labor to "cheap" eastern.
@ Further investigation
I'm not surprised, if they're expanding somewhere it doesn't make sense to kick people there. If they hire fewer people, it might have the same effect on sales/employee or some similar number.
