Opinion: Dell goes retail in Australia ... so what?

Resellers - still sceptical of Dell and wary of its channel efforts - might see this as another vendor effort to thwart independent IT retailers; however Dell’s olive branch to the channel has come in many forms over the last year, through subsidiaries like Alienware and EqualLogic. But are its efforts too late?

When Dell first announced its retail plans, everyone’s mind raced with which retailers Dell would go with as its first Australian retail partner. Would it be K Mart? Or Big W? After all the suspense Dell chose OfficeWorks.

But it makes you wonder if the announcement will see the floodgates of Dell’s channel open for all resellers? What ... they already go through the channel with high end products? No ... But aren’t they supposed to be a direct organisation hell bent on destroying the channel?

Ten years ago when mum and dad computer shops dotted neighbourhoods, hardware products (PCs and notebooks) delivered enough margins for said computer shop owners to make a decent living. Back then, selling Dell computers and notebooks from their storefront would have brought hordes of customers. However, as Bob Dylan said, “for the times they are a changing”.

With the commercialisation of PCs and notebooks and a shrinking marketplace, mum and dad IT shop fronts have all but died out. Those that have survived are finding new ways of making money and no longer see high returns in low-end consumer hardware products. This is where mass merchant retailers like Kmart, OfficeWorks and Big W have stepped in.

Going back to Dell, the vendor has added a growing number of businesses to its stable. Recently, Dell has completed its US$155 million acquisition of web-based email archiving firm MessageOne. Perhaps the most important buys for Dell’s channel strategy are that of storage vendor EqualLogic and high-end PC and notebook vendor, Alienware.

Alienware was bought by Dell in 2006. In March it launched an Australian channel program to attract local resellers to sell its PC and notebook products through shop fronts.

Dell’s purchase of EqualLogic in November 2007 gave Australian resellers the ability to sell Dell products. Chris Casey ,general manager of EqualLogic, in A/NZ at the time confirmed to CRN that its local reseller base can now supply Dell products.

It has been almost a year since Dell started selling out of US mass merchant retail chain Wal Mart. Between then and now Dell has been making steps to open its channel in Australia and it’s about time resellers started taking advantage of it...if they haven’t already.