Dell sees PCs growing faster than smartphones for now

On Tuesday, Dell announced a slew of products featuring the new Windows 8 operating system.
P Krishnakumar, executive director – marketing, Dell India, spoke to Beryl Menezes about the PC maker’s strategy to retain its numero uno status in the Indian market.

What new products have you have launched today? How is it expected to help your sales targets?
We have launched XPS 12 convertible, 10-inch Latitude 10 tablet, Latitude 6430u 14-inch Ultrabook, 23-inch OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One with touch and the S2340T Win8 multi-touch monitor. While all these products are targeted at the enterprise space, which makes up a majority of our customer base, the XPS 12 convertible is the first-of-its-kind product launched by an original equipment manufacturer in India – which combines a laptop and tablet. This is our most innovative product till date and is definitely expected to boost sales.

In July, Dell decided not to venture into the smartphone space. What is the reason behind this?
As per our research, in India, the PC and tablet market is still growing much faster than smartphones, and is expected to stay that way at least for the next two years. Thus we decided to focus our energy on our core form factor where we continue to lead, that is the notebook market, where we are seeing maximum sales, with a 19% revenue share. While we are expecting the Latitude 10 tablet to do better than the Dell Streak tablet, we still think the XPS 12
convertible would have more takers. However, we will be launching another 3G tablet with a replaceable battery in mid-November in a similar price range. In early 2013, the S2340T multi-touch monitor will also be available.

Dell is known to be a premium priced brand. Looking at the growing competition in the PC and tablet space, are you looking at change in pricing strategy?
No. We believe that are products are priced competitively for their durability, after-sales service, enterprise customisation and customer satisfaction. Thus even the new products launched today come at a price of Rs42,490 for the Latitude tablet, Rs69,990 for the Latitude 6430u Ultrabook, Rs49,990 for the OptiPlex 9010 All-In-One and Rs90,490 for the XPS 12 convertible. All these products will be available in stores across the country next month, except the XPS 12 convertible, which is now available.

How will the tie-up with Windows 8 help?
Dell and Windows have a legacy of more than two decades of offering services and solutions which make technology more accessible and intuitive. The introduction of new Dell PCs and Windows 8 software is yet another important milestone in this journey. We are collaborating closely with Microsoft to ensure the combination of Dell products and Windows gives customers the best experience possible. We are working with Microsoft to ensure that Windows 8 is a positive customer experience on current and future Dell products.