Dell says the problem is that it dropped prices too much. But deeper, more threatening forces are also now at play.
The first is the resurgence of rivals, which have caught up with Dell"s low price model. By driving prices down, Dell has unintentionally cut costs for its rivals too. "The supply chain has become as standardized as the components—the money has been wrung out," explains an expert. Dell, by not working through retail outlets, is still more efficient, but the cost benefits that this once brought have been whittled away.
The second factor hurting Dell is that growth in the computer business is coming from the consumer market and emerging countries rather than the corporate market, in which Dell sells around 85% of its machines. Increasing sales to consumers is difficult for Dell because individuals tend to want to see and touch computers before buying them. They also like to be able to return the machine easily if it breaks. Dell"s tack of retail presence, once ballyhooed as a benefit, has turned into grave disadvantage.
A third problem facing Dell is its exclusive use of Intel chips rather than lower-priced ones made by Intel"s sworn rivals, AMD. This arrangement lets Dell buy chips inexpensively and benefit from Intel"s generous co-marketing programmes. But it has started to harm Dell"s sales for higher margin computer servers.