Dell signs Dick Smith

It is one year since Dell began its Australian retail program when it agreed to sell its products in Officeworks' stores across Australia. 

It expanded its retail presence even further when it signed a second deal with The Good Guys in December last year.      

Evan Williams, general manager, consumer sales and marketing, Dell Australia, said it has made a number of enhancements to its local consumer business over the past 12 months including its online capability so that customers can personalise their laptops with their favourite colours and designs.

He said over the next several months in Australia, it will add more personalisation options and launch more products.

"We are very happy with the three major retailers we have signed up so far," said Williams.

"We are going to target the top Dick Smith stores at first then expand this over time."

Williams said that the company may add more partners over time and the deciding factor will be what product they go to market with and which retail store best suits the type of customer it wants to attract.

"We don't have a mass market approach to the channel. We want to make sure we are a very good partner to those we are selling our consumer solutions to and we will stick to that strategy," he said.

"Each retailer has a different mix of customers and we want to attract a different type of market as much as possible as we bring out a different category of products."

Williams said its resellers would continue to add value with its training and product support including training the staff at Dick Smith to sell Dell products.

"As we scale up the business, we have a good field force helping partners with technical training and selling that will be a benefit to our resellers.

Glenn O'Neill, head of buying and merchandising at Dick Smith, said it was committed to providing customers with the latest technology.

"Dell's products complement our PC and laptop range enabling us to provide our customers with a wide range of solutions to meet their technology needs," he added.

Dick Smith has more than 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand. 

Dell Australia will continue to operate its kiosks located in shopping malls in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.