Having regrouped and now working with a local retail specialist distributor, Dell is playing to its strengths in inventory management and use of its call centres Dell is preparing a retail onslaught in the UK, using on-high street, near high-street resellers, and others, boosted by a big play on social media. But there will be no big media ad spend, which will make this a campaign to eb watched closely by IT marketers across the board.
Dell pulled out of retail globally a few years ago, realising that it was spread too thin to be effective. It built up again slowly in North America, India and China, and is now ready for the next step – the UK is top of its list as the next prominent market. Working with distributor Exertis, which has a history with Dell in the UK going back to its Micro-P days, it will aim at high street shops, small chains and individual retailers; the main products will be laptops, desktops and gaming machines using the Alienware range, but the full Dell portfolio is available to retail through the distributor, including security, storage and networking, if needed.
Dell's executive director and general manager, Channel UK, Sarah Shields (above) says she is relying on the expertise of Exertis and its experience with retailers: “We're still new to this,” she says, "and need hand-holding". Lessons have been learned from previous experiences in retail and from the return to other markets.
But looking at what worked for retail in the US she does not think US-style print media or TV advertising and coupons will work in the UK. “Nobody I know reads print media for news anymore, and we fast-forward adverts.” So there will be a push to get the Dell brand name into shops and in point of sale material and some “slick” marketing, she promises. “Dell has a high recognition as a brand, and we want to drive individuals and small businesses into the shops.” And she will use the vast Dell call-centre capabilities to intervene on social media when there is an opportunity. Teams are already being trained on how to use this new tool for extending effective customer reach and monitoring perceptions.
There is a huge opportunity for disruptive plays by retailers and e-tailers here, she says, and Dell aims to control its retail channel inventory and supply channel very closely, working with the likes of Exertis, which has expanded its sales teams and added training. The planning work on inventory, and deciding which ranges are available to each market is considerable and in fine detail, it appears.
Exertis' Retail Director Mike Buley is confident: “We understand Dell, we have good relationships with retailers and can talk roadmaps and future plans with retailers.” He reports lots of interest on the gaming side already in Alienware and aims to get demonstration units into stores, with configurators perhaps to come.
Dell has an armada of distributors in the UK now, including broadliners Ingram Micro and Tech Data which has just been added, Hammer for storage, Getech for thin-client, WestCoast for imaging. The thousands of retail outlets being targeted with the Exertis deal may change the balance for other retail channel vendors, while the impact of the social media, call centre and marketing will be worth watching.