Wal-Mart to begin selling Dell PCs

Dell plans to begin selling desktop PCs in Wal-Mart Stores in the next few weeks, the first move in a major departure from its decades-long sales strategy.

Wal-Mart plans to sell the Dimension E521 in more than 3,000 retail locations in the United States, Samir Bhavnani, research director at Current Analysis West, told CNET News.com.

UPDATE, 5/24 7:15 a.m. PT: Initial word was that the Dell PCs would go on sale this weekend. A representative for Wal-Mart on Thursday morning said that the PCs are slated to be in stores on June 10, with two models each offered in a bundle priced below $700. Details on the PCs were not provided. Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Canada stores will carry different models.

(Original post continues.) "Finally, Dell has addressed one of its main problems by giving customers a chance to touch and feel its products," Bhavnani said. "Dell's going to be touching a lot of people who weren't necessarily looking to buy a PC."

The move follows a pronouncement by founder and CEO Michael Dell that the PC maker would be making a major push in commercial reseller and retail channels. Dell, which has long relied on direct sales, had flirted with retail before, but it had no specific programs for training and technical support to offer resellers.

Dell announced earlier this month that it would begin providing many programs and strategies to help resellers move the Round Rock, Texas, company's products.

"I think you'll see Dell showing up in a lot more retail locations--not only here in the U.S. but also in major countries around the world over the next several quarters. So stay tuned," Dell said in an interview with CRN.

To see CNET News.com's analysis of the retail maneuver, see "What Wal-Mart means to Dell."

[jimothyGator]

Death of Dell

Mark my words: Dell will regret this move. Wal-Mart will put increasing pressure
on Dell to cut their costs even further and sell even cheaper computers. The
low-end boxes Wal-Mart is likely to stock have almost no profit margin (some,
apparently, sold at a loss, made up for via the notorious "crapware" pollution).
Dell, used to call its own shots and forcing the direction of the industry, will be
disappointed to know they've just handed the keys over to Microsoft.

[jimothyGator]

Death of Dell

Mark my words: Dell will regret this move. Wal-Mart will put increasing pressure
on Dell to cut their costs even further and sell even cheaper computers. The
low-end boxes Wal-Mart is likely to stock have almost no profit margin (some,
apparently, sold at a loss, made up for via the notorious "crapware" pollution).
Dell, used to call its own shots and forcing the direction of the industry, will be
disappointed to know they've just handed the keys over to Microsoft.

[johnqpope]

Just the start

Dell is expanding its business to the retail channel because customers are asking us for additional ways to purchase our products, and we plan on delivering on a global level. Offering Dell Dimensions in Wal-Mart is a great example of this approach. While we can't get into specifics, in the coming quarters there will be other shoes to drop in support of this move into global retail. The deal with Wal-Mart represents our first step.

[johnqpope]

Just the start

Dell is expanding its business to the retail channel because customers are asking us for additional ways to purchase our products, and we plan on delivering on a global level. Offering Dell Dimensions in Wal-Mart is a great example of this approach. While we can't get into specifics, in the coming quarters there will be other shoes to drop in support of this move into global retail. The deal with Wal-Mart represents our first step.