Dell pegs India sales at $1 bn by next year

Dell, the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, said sales in India may climb to almost $1 billion in the year ending February 2009, helping Asian growth offset effects of an expected slowdown in the US.

Dell's business in India has been rising more than 50 per cent from a year earlier by shipments, Steve Felice, Asia president, said in Shanghai, without providing comparative figures or a timeframe.

Higher wages in China and India, the world's fastest-growing major economies, may help Round Rock, Texas-based Dell boost sales growth in Asia as computers become affordable to more consumers. The US company has started selling PCs at Asian retail outlets to raise revenue, which is growing at more than triple the pace of the Americas region, its biggest market.

"Consumer PCs are the fastest growth area in Asia right now and Dell has not necessarily been that strong on the consumer side,'' said Bryan Ma, an analyst with research company IDC in Singapore. "Selling at retail stores should help.''

The company's revenue from Asia in the quarter ended November 2 gained 18 per cent from a year earlier. Sales of consumer PCs are expected to continue rising the fastest in Asia, while small and medium-sized businesses, may gain at about double the pace of large corporate clients, Felice said. Businesses account for about 80 per cent of Dell's revenue in the region, he said.

China, Dell's biggest market in Asia by units, is growing at about half the speed of India, Felice said.

The company's revenue from China is four times higher than from India, he said.

The company's factory in Chennai, which is running at capacity for desktop computers, is due to start making laptops and will begin producing servers by the end of the year, Felice said.

Dell in May 2007 formed its first agreement to sell computers at retail outlets with Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, after founder Michael Dell built the company by shunning store shelves and selling directly to consumers via the web and telephone.

The PC maker followed up by signing deals with Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings, China's biggest electronics retailer, and Japan's Bic Camera. It has also formed agreements with retailers in Singapore and South Korea.