Dell has announced plans to start direct sales and technical support operations in nine major Mainland Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.
Dell officials said the company will begin direct sales of PCs to Chinese customers through its Web site www.dell.com/apIn the past, Dell -- which established its place in the industry with a direct sales model -- has relied solely on a network of distributors to sell its products to Chinese end-users. Dell distributors in China will continue to offer sales and service support to Mainland users, company officials said.
"In China, it's still going to be the traditional way of buying PCs for the next few years," said Bill Wang, managing director of Beijing-based market research firm China Research.
Dell officials said they expect the PC market in China to be strong in the years ahead based on factors such as relatively low personal computer penetration, continued foreign investments and long-term economic progress and growth potential.
However, analysts have recently expressed concern that a weakened yen, could slow down growth in China's PC market.
The China market will be serviced by Dell's integrated sales and manufacturing facility and customer call centre in the southern coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian Province.
The centre has already begun operations and will initially employ 200 people, Dell officials said. Officials did not offer an indication of the plant's production capacity.
