Dell trying to capture 10 pc of India's PC market

Kolkata, Dec 8: India will be the third largest country for Dell in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan and China by 2009.

India was one of the fastest growing regions for the company witha 93 per cent growth in unit shipments in the third quarter this fiscalover the same period last year, Steve Felice, president-AsiaPacific/Japan, Dell Asia Pte Ltd, said here today.

In last five years, the growth trajectory in India has evenoutpaced that of the US during the same initial time period. "We choseto consolidate our business with large enterprises SOHO (Smalloffice/Home office)before going direct with the government andconsumers at large". "We are quite excited with the prospects in theEast and have ramped up our sales force in the region. It will alsocater to the Northeast," Felice said.

Around 30 to 40 per cent of the PCs in the East were bought by thegovernment. Dell was in talks with the state government to offer itsproducts for various projects, he said.

"Our commitment to the East would give consumers a chance tointeract directly with the company. We also offer on-site service orrepair facilities for offices and residences and the option of fixingproblems through a remote sensing programme," added Rajan Anandan,vice-president and general manager, Dell India.

Mr Felice was in the city to participate at Infocomm-2006, wherean architectural model of Dell's proposed -million computermanufacturing plant was unveiled. Dell India, with Rs 1,800-crorebusiness, is now targeting the small office/home office (SOHO) segment,the government, manufacturing units and banking and financial servicesinstitutions.

The company would use the Dell direct model for its business.

The company, which has a 45 per cent market share in the largeenterprises segment, has also cornered a 15 per cent share in theSOHO/SMB segment, the initiative of which was started three quartersago. The company would also consider introducing its printers andsoftware peripherals in due course of time, Felice said.

The Chennai plant, which would start manufacturing in the firsthalf of 2007, would initially make desktop and server products for thedomestic market. In future, it would also look at exports.

UNI