Channel fifth column awaits Dell

European PC dealers and disties are willing to put their heads in the lion's den. Like lambs to the slaughter they will queue up to do business with Dell, the nemesis of the channel - if the terms are right.

A survey of 107 senior representatives of PC-reselling businesses in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) reveals that:

• 52% said they would resell Dell if they could make more margin than with their current suppliers
  
• 8% were already reselling Dell equipment
  
• 18% said that they would not consider switching to Dell even if they could make more margin
  
• 22% described Dell as "the enemy" and claimed they would never switch

According to Canalys, an analyst firm which conducted the survey, this shows the channel is putting "pragmatism put ahead of loyalty to existing vendors".

There is the whiff of the hypothetical here - direct-selling Dell is unlikely to offer product resellers the same sort of margins that, say, IBM or HP deliver. But it does have a carrot for the biggest resellers - service contracts with corporates that need filling.

As for the big channel-led vendors, they will note the lack of loyalty from their resellers. This will make it all the more easier for them to pursue direct-sales policies at the expense of perfidious dealers.

As for Dell, the company has a willing pool of European resellers to dip into. This may prove useful in some European countries, where the direct vendor model is unpopular, Canalys notes.

The European PC channel is in the doldrums - 45 per cent of the Canalys panel expect business in Q3 to be flat or down on the terrible volumes experienced in the same quarter last year. The contractual upheavals following the HP/Compaq takeover also continues to make waves. The jury is still out for most channel players but more respondents (24 per cent) think HP is doing well and implementing a clear strtegy than think the company is sending out confusing signals (16 per cent). A promising start, then, but not nearly enough for HP to stand on its laurels. ®

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