Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) came in second to global PC sales leader Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) during the Black Friday shopping frenzy and the ensuing weekend, according to analyst firm Thomas Weisel Partners. The report, however, analyzed sales only at a single retailer, Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY).Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid indicated that holiday PC buyers were preferring Hewlett-Packard's PC five to one over Dell's PCs at the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. While Reid's survey only looked at 35 stores, that's enough to generate a statistically legitmate finding. Reid went on to say that "Dell has significant work to do . . . the only negative comments in our survey with respect to brand were aimed at Dell, with survey respondents noting potential quality issues.''
Is Dell's retail strategy working as well as founder Michael Dell had hoped when he aggressively launched his retail strategy in the summer of 2007? Doubtful, and competitor HP has not stood still since that moment, and has actually increased its market share in retail with stylish designs, many configurations and aggressive pricing that keeps a large thumb on Dell's retail efforts. From looking at some of the top retailers this past three-day shopping holiday, HP's laptop offerings were certainly more numerous than Dell's. If that presence translates to more shelf space, then there you go.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-02-2008 @ 3:41PM
Bjorn Olsen said...
What about online? Dell.com is far superior to HP's site and generates far more eCommerce revenue,
12-02-2008 @ 3:48PM
widollar said...
Dell lost their magic about four years ago, and will never regain it again! H-P will see to that! I used to buy Dell but my last purchase was H-P and I'm quite pleased with the system I purchased at Sam's Club. The price paid was fantastic, complete with a 22 inch LCD monitor.
12-02-2008 @ 4:39PM
Matt said...
So far, have had absolutely no problem with H-P. This one is the fifth not counting printers, etc. Early on, a few years ago people were trying to talk me into Dell, but had heard from still others that they weren't any good. I'll stick to H-P for now.
12-02-2008 @ 4:48PM
Tom said...
This is the first holiday that Dell's been in the retail space, so any business is net new business for them. The real test is if they can continue to improve the numbers year over year.