By Ramdas S, CRN, January 22, 2010, 1630 hrs
Dell India has shocked both partners and analysts, with a strong show in the India notebook numbers for Q4 2009, according to market research agency Gartner. For the first time in almost seven years, HP had to surrender their pole position as far as notebook numbers go.
According to Gartner, 7,59,412 notebooks were sold during Q4 2009, with Dell clocking an impressive 1,81,852 units, followed by HP with 1,71,200, and Acer being a distant third with 1,10,500.
“It has been a strong quarter for Dell, and it’s seems some of their strategies in past have paid rich dividends. We believe Dell has done exceedingly well last quarter in consumer notebook sales, and enterprises have also rallied behind Dell,” said Diptarup Chakraborti, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner Technology and Service Provider Research group. “There was a gap of close to 36,000 units a quarter between HP and Dell, during Q1 2009, and it’s a remarkable turnaround for Dell.”
"Mobility has been a key focus area for Dell and we have seen a slew of launches catering to different segments in the last one year, while increasing our reach and access for customers. We became the no. 2 in the PC market in the previous quarter and our strategic Indian focus continues to pay off as clearly seen from our becoming the No 1 notebooks vendor in India in Q4 2009. We are delighted with the results and believe we are poised for the next level of growth in India with great products and services for our customers," said Sameer Garde, Country General Manager, Dell India.
Chakraborti attributes the strong show to the way Dell has managed the consumer channels. “There were eyebrows raised when Dell signed on regional distributors instead of the multi-tier channel strategy that other vendors follow. However, the strategy seems to have worked well as Dell managed to find new markets away from the urban centers where they always have been strong. Also, Dell was one of the first brands to tap into large format retail stores (LFRs), which helped the brand across all segments”
“Partners have taken to Dell very strongly in places, especially upcountry, where Dell had a fresh appeal to consumers. Also in the last quarter, the build-to-order model has captured imagination of consumers,” informed Dinesh Nair, Chief Executive, of Bengaluru-based Big C Technologies,
HP officials were not available for comments. |