Dell to abandon TV business?
updated 01:35 pm EDT, Wed June 6, 2007
Dell Abandoning TV
Dell may discontinue its self-branded TVs, sources near to the company have reportedly told Bloomberg. The financial publication cites four individual contacts who assert that Dell will shut down its LCD TV range sometime later this month in favor of selling other brands and refocusing on its core PC business. This decision stems directly from the company's poor showing in the US market, say the sources. Independent reports have Texas-based firm falling outside of even the top 30 TV producers selling in North America, making it difficult for the company to gain recognition in the face of both foreign companies such as Samsung and domestics such as Vizio.
Company representative Bob Pearson refused to either validate the claims or refute them. The only offical plans were to offer a "wide assortment of televisions from leading manufacturers that feature the latest technology," he said in an e-mail. However, the response is said to play into additional elements of the allegations, which say that the decision had been made roughly when the company began offering Sony's Bravia LCD line side-by-side with its own TVs in February.
Though the insiders could not specify an exact date for when the company will remove its TVs from its website, they note that there are about 6,000 TVs of various sizes left in Dell's inventory, and sales will only continue until this stock is effectively depleted in coming weeks.
The last official update to the firm's TV line occurred in October, with both CES and minor shows having seen no new models.
