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In an interview only moments ago, an upbeat Steve Felice, Dell regional president for Asia-Pacific & Japan, said as much when he noted that: "our business expectations have exceeded all sectors for all products in all countries", adding that "the path to Dell being No. 1 worldwide is a lot clearer now".

Furthermore, Felice says that the recent move into retail with retailers like Officeworks is all part and parcel of the company's world domination strategy.

The move into getting retail space said Felice, "is a critical part of this strategy and is complimentary to our business".
Far from being a back down of its online channel, Felice says there is a "symbiotic relationship" between the two channels.
Moreover he noted that, "what you are really seeing is that Dell wants all types of business, and at $US 60 billion in sales, we have to make sure that we access all types of customers".

Felice also pointed out that this strategy by the world's No. 3 PC maker was rather deliberate: "we have evidence that shows that whenever we set up a retail channel, our online business also increases", he notes, adding that we invest in both because "not all customers want to buy online and even those that do, the retail channel allows them to customize their purchase easier".
When it came to institutional buyers, says Felice "we have always had feet on the street", he noted.

And in terms of the move to mobile computing and laptops, Felice said that even though this was a clear trend, Dell, the company that posted a $US16 billion sales figure this morning, still attributes "half its sales to desktop PCs".