14 DAY TRIAL // Dell recently put an end to the Dell Direct stores era and announced that it will shut down all the 140 kiosks the company owns inside the United States shopping malls and airports.
The Dell Direct Store model started in 2002, and allowed users to examine, inspect, touch and feel the company's products before placing an order directly to the company. These kiosks never sold anything and merely served as showcasing and sampling booths, which hardly brought the company any profit, except for its image and customers' awareness to the brand.
Dell's intention of terminating this era is mostly due to the company's new retail strategy that allows it to connect with customers it has never reached in the past. Dell seems to be committed to its legendary direct business model that has also penetrated the retail sector. Therefore, Dell customers can get their products (laptops and desktop systems) through the company's over 10,000 retail outlets worldwide.
"Moving into retail is a prime example of Dell listening to its customers," said Tony Weiss, vice president for Dell's Global Consumer business. "Ever since we began our journey into retail, we wanted to give customers the opportunity to call, click, or visit Dell and have access to our award-winning products. This move fits in with how our broad global retail strategy is evolving."
Historically speaking, Dell was one of the biggest fans of direct-only sales, and a significant amount of the company's revenue comes this way. However, the PC vendor had to resurrect the classical sales mode in order to face the increased competition on the market from other PC vendors storming the US fronts: Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Acer and Lenovo.
The Dell Direct stores outside the United States remain open. The company has over 50 Dell Direct kiosks in Canada, Asia Pacific and Japan.