Dell Inc, the world's largest PC maker, posted a 31 percent
revenue increase in China in the second quarter of this fiscal
year, despite sluggish global sales.
The US firm, which has been coping with a global slowdown, saw
worldwide revenue grow 5 percent and operating income decline by 36
percent in the period.
Dell's unit growth in China saw a slight decrease to 37 percent
compared to 40 percent growth in the previous quarter. Its revenue
in China in the first quarter grew 29 percent.
That indicated Dell China is "growing in a healthy way," Stephen
Felice, president of Dell Asia-Pacific and Japan, said on
Friday.
The president expects the company's plan to launch "Dimension"
consumer desktop PCs with microprocessors made by Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) next month to "reach out to more customers" and
accelerate Dell's business growth in China.
AMD's low-price processors, which are popular in China, could
help Dell further cut costs to better compete with other makers in
one of the world's most dynamic PC markets.
And the increasing investment in improving customer service will
also help drive down costs, said Felice.
This year Dell plans to invest US$150 million globally in
customer care, which is designed to improve the buying experience
through services and support.
Felice would not disclose how much investment would be made in
China.
Doubts have been raised about Dell's customer-focused direct
business model in China. Some analysts say inadequate localization
in China has resulted in increasing customer complaints.
But Felice insisted that Dell was "getting more and more
comfortable with the direct model" in China and has "got high
scores in delivering customer experience."
He added that the recent factory expansion in China and
increased capacity at call centers in Dalian, in Northeast China's
Liaoning Province, would ensure better delivery and customer
care.
Dell is currently facing a lawsuit brought by Chinese customers
after a mix-up regarding a chip shipped to some of its notebook PCs
in China. Some buyers complained that their notebooks did not carry
the central processing units as advertised. Dell has promised to
offer refunds to those who bought such laptops.
Sharon Zhang, a spokeswoman with Dell China, said that the firm
would double the number of workers involved in customer care in
China and increase technical service support by 80 percent by the
end of this year.
(China Daily August 19, 2006)
