Steve: This ranking is the entire measure of your balancing act between first, second, or third place. Many people like to use sales volume to measure rankings. A few years ago, we started conveying a view that sales volume is no longer as important to total sales growth as it used to be, and we began transitioning towards becoming a comprehensive solutions company. Sales volume is really not our key objective. If you pay attention to the changes happening in the industry, you will find products on the market priced at $200 and others at $2000. There are servers priced at $500 and also those priced at $50,000. Focusing solely on sales volume actually doesn't make much sense. We are more concerned with the penetration rate of our solutions among customers. Our revenue and profits are both continuously growing. We are measuring our success from a broader perspective.
Sina Tech: Are there any other reasons? Will smartphones and tablets hinder the development of this business market?
Sina Tech News, November 14th morning report, Steve J. Felice, President of Dell's Consumer Business and SME Department, recently stated that PC product sales volume is no longer Dell's primary goal; the company will focus more on the penetration rate of solutions among customers.
The following is the full interview transcript:
Felice said in the interview that Dell will focus on solution acquisitions in the future. "In the future, you will see that Dell's acquisition efforts will concentrate more on the technical market solutions area."
In the past year and a bit, Dell has acquired several technical solution providers and launched multiple industry-specific solutions. Dell founder Michael Dell openly told Wall Street in June this year that Dell is currently an enterprise solutions company.
He added that sales volume is no longer Dell's main goal. "If you pay attention to the changes happening in the industry, you will find products on the market priced at $200 and others at $2000. There are servers priced at $500 and also those priced at $50,000. Focusing solely on sales volume actually doesn't make much sense."
He also mentioned that Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 system is an outstanding product that will help change the prospects and trends of tablets, and even smartphones. He emphasized that Dell will maintain a highly open strategy, so they will continue to use both Android and Windows platforms. (Liang Luo, Jing Quan)
PC Industry Will Continue to Grow
Steve: Due to various different reasons, I frequently visit China, and each time I try to do something different. The purpose of this trip is to attend a meeting held yesterday by the American Chamber of Commerce in China along with the Chinese Premier and several Chinese ministers. I have also met with many customers and have been conducting business evaluations.
Steve: The growth rate of this industry is directly related to global economic factors. In some economically stronger regions, PC growth remains strong. China is a typical example. Dell’s business in this region continues to grow well. In some developed areas hit harder by the financial crisis, you can observe that the growth rate has indeed slowed down. Computing technology has always been a major source of productivity, and this industry sector is expected to continue to grow, but sometimes it fluctuates depending on the economic situation.
Sina Tech: Still regarding the PC market, Dell is currently the world's third-largest PC manufacturer in this field, having lost its second-place position. What is your response to this change?
Felice attended a business conference organized by the US-China Chamber of Commerce, visited Chinese customers, and took the opportunity to accept an exclusive interview with Sina Tech. Felice is responsible for Dell's small and medium-sized enterprise customer solutions business and also oversees the entire line of Dell consumer products, including desktops, laptops, software, peripherals, as well as product design and sales.
Felice said, "Our priorities differ. Dell will continue to promote our independent development strategy. Lenovo has indeed achieved great success in both the Chinese and global markets, but Dell measures success differently, not just by sales volume."
Although Dell's ranking has slipped, Felice views it relatively lightly. "Many people like to use sales volume to measure rankings. A few years ago, Dell started conveying a view that sales volume is no longer as important to total sales growth as it used to be, and we began transitioning towards becoming a comprehensive solutions company." Felice indicated.
Regarding the future development of the PC industry, Felice believes that computing technology has always been a major source of productivity, and this industry sector is expected to continue to grow, but sometimes it fluctuates depending on the economic situation.
Steve: We haven’t yet seen real threats from similar products like smartphones or tablets. Studies show that they are merely additional devices in the market because many people cannot afford to buy three different types of devices. Tablets are good platforms for browsing content, but their efficiency in creating content is still quite low. I believe that most of the changes in this industry are more about responding to the economic environment rather than market changes.
Sina Tech: According to ABC's latest report, although global PC sales are growing, the growth in this market is slowing down. What is your take on this report?
Dell has already launched several tablet products, and not long ago, they premiered a 10-inch tablet in China. Felice revealed that Dell's 5-inch Streak product has been selling well, though he did not provide specific numbers. He pointed out that in the coming years, Dell will make significant achievements in the tablet and smartphone sectors.
Market research firm Gartner recently published a report stating that Lenovo Group shipped 12.35 million PCs globally in the third quarter, surpassing Dell to become the world's second-largest PC manufacturer with a global market share of 13.5%. Dell's PC shipments for the quarter were 10.67 million units, with a global market share of 11.6%.
Regarding the recently much-discussed smartphones and tablets, Felice stated that Dell is still in the early stages in this field and has a relatively small influence. However, he mentioned that Dell is continuously striving to understand the concept of IT consumerization.
He emphasized that Dell cares more about the penetration rate of solutions among customers. "Our revenue and profits are both continuously growing. We are measuring our success from a broader perspective."
Speaking about Lenovo Group, which surpassed Dell to become the world's second-largest PC manufacturer, Felice admitted that Lenovo is indeed a strong competitor, but he noted that the two companies actually have very different strategies. "Our strategy and focus are to become a more comprehensive solutions provider, while they seem to focus more on selling more laptops and desktops."