Michael Dell, founder of Dell Corporation, comes to China today to attend the ceremony of Dell PC products' entry into Zhongguancun Hengchang Electronic City, a move that marks the ownership of a full-range retail channel by the computing giant in the Chinese market.
A representative from Dell Beijing says though Dell visits China each year, it is different this time as Dell's position in the market has changed over the past year and it has fallen into the second spot in the PC market.
Dell's fourth quarter financial report of 2007 shows that the company saw a dramatic decline of profit in the quarter and its advantage in the U.S. is also being challenged because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, which means that the company has to rely more on the overseas market. Zhang Shaying, spokesperson at Dell Beijing, says that Dell has been emphasizing development in the overseas markets, particularly China, and it aims to achieve a two-digit growth in the region for the long term.
Direct-selling has been a feature of Dell, but in the past six months, the company has begun to make changes on the business pattern and bring its products to retail venues like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Best Buy and Staples. In China, it has reached cooperation with the country's top electronics retailer Gome and set up about 50 Experience Centers where consumers can interact with the computers before they buy.