Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) looks to be increasing its partnership with global retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). The Round Rock, Texas computer maker stated this week that it would begin selling desktop and laptop personal computers in Wal-Mart locations throughout Brazil and Mexico [subscription required] in the coming weeks.This is a good move for Dell. Although it's not entirely clear how many PCs the computer maker has sold in U.S. Wal-Mart locations since first entering into a partnership with the retailer, expanding into retail locations outside the U.S. will only pump those numbers higher, and Dell needs all the sales and retail recognition it can get.
Dell's fast and furious entrance into retail is much needed, although it should have started years ago. After starting up the Wal-Mart relationship early this summer, the computer maker has signed on to sell retail PCs in the United Kingdom and Japan, and inked a deal with China's Gome Group to sell computers inside the locations of the largest retailer in the world's most populous country.
Is this the beginning of Dell's brand dilution to the everyday masses, or a brilliant strategy to run up sales in an important market segment that only the competitors like Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) have enjoyed in recent years? It's a little of both.
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