Is Dell too late to the Asia-Pacific party?

Dell today announced a partnership with GOME, one of China’s largest consumer electronics retailers, to sell its products through GOME stores. (See our related news story: “Dell partners with GOME on retail sales in China.”) The agreement not only exhibits yet another move away from Dell’s direct sell business model, but is a first for the Round Rock, Texas-based company in China.

Clearly, Dell is looking to expand its reach – as it should – but is it too late in doing so? Dell still places at number two in iSuppli’s PC market share rankings,  but it isn’t the PC powerhouse it once was and neither is the United States, for that matter. With a large part of the consumer electronics market’s demand coming from Asia-Pacific, the United States doesn’t have the global pull it once did, nor do companies that use it as their chief market.

Dell now faces pressure from companies that were minuscule blips or even non-existent on PC market watcher’s radars 10 years ago. Example: Lenovo and Acer. The two companies, based in China and Taiwan, respectively, and both battling for iSuppli’s third place ranking, have been growing by leaps and bounds in recent quarters, gaining market share and increasing their global reaches. Of note is Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC line and Acer’s recent Gateway buy. 

While these companies have been expanding, Dell is losing ground, not only in market share but in terms of consumer respect. See our related blog entry “Bad supply chain management and bad luck at Dell” where EDN readers sound off on their bad experiences with Dell and in some cases question if they will ever order products from the company again. Dell has also faced CEO exits and returns, accounting investigations and battery recalls  in recent quarters, further pushing the company down the PC ladder.

So the question put to you, dear readers, is: Is it too late for a full Dell recovery? Will this move to China’s retail market help the struggling PC maker or is Dell too late to the Asia-pacific party? Voice your opinions below.

–Suzanne Deffree, News Editor