Dell to sell with Officeworks

Starting next week 104 Officeworks branches across the country will begin selling a range of Dell PCs, laptops, printers and LCD screens. This is the first such move for the computer giant in Australia. Before this move Dell sold its products primarily through the Internet in Australia, and set up kiosks at shopping centres to help customers purchase computers from their website.

Dell has made similar arrangements with retail establishments in other regions including the US, Europe and China. Dell general manager of consumer sales and marketing for South Asia, Evan Williams said the move was primarily for customers who might like a more hands-on approach to their purchases.

“We had sold online for people who really wanted to customise,” said Williams. “Now for people who are less comfortable shopping online, they can go into stores, but the level of customisation will still be there.”

“Also, we are finding that in this market, notebooks are driving growth, and people are more and more concerned about design and look of the product. Many people want to be able to see the product and touch the product. For those customers, that’s why we’re doing this.”

Officeworks representative David Oakley said the store will set its own prices for the Dell inventory, which will range between $999 and $1,800. The 10 PC models set to be offered in-store will feature different specifications to those models offered online.

Williams said that while the deal with Officeworks is not exclusive, there are no future plans to sell Dell through any other retail vendors.

Officework’s new stock of Dell merchandise is expected to hit stores on May 5.