Dell Inc. unveiled four low-cost computer models Wednesday designed for China, India and other emerging economies in a new bid to tap the potential of high-growth markets outside the United State The two notebook and two desktop PCs are the first Dell models designed especially for emerging markets, said Steve Felice, the US computer maker's president for the Asia-Pacific. They are meant for small business users and are to be sold in 20 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Strong sales in Asia helped Dell turn in better-than-expected results in the first quarter despite a slowing US economy. It is due to report its latest quarterly results Friday, and analysts are watching whether it can maintain its growth pace. “Our success is going to be largely dependent on our ability to expand globally,” Felice said in an interview. Dell and rivals Hewlett-Packard Co., Taiwan-based Acer Inc. and China's Lenovo Group are expanding aggressively in emerging economies as sales growth in the United States and other developed markets slows. Dell's first-quarter sales in China, India, Russia and Brazil - markets known collectively as BRIC- grew by 58 percent, about 10 times the US rate, Felice said. He said Dell expects 20-30 percent annual growth in those markets in coming years. Prices for the new Vestro notebooks will start at 3,299 yuan ($475) and for the desktop PCs at 2,999 yuan ($440), according to Felice. “We used to design products for global requirements and distribute the same product globally,” he said. “In this situation, we started with talking to emerging country customers, designing a product for emerging countries, and our initial launch of the product is only in emerging countries. That's a big departure in our strategy.” The move reflects a growing focus by global computer, automobile, consumer goods and other companies on creating products for increasingly prosperous customers in emerging economies.
