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Dell Computer, a Fortune 500 company based in Round Rock, Texas, was founded by Michael Dell in 1984 but did business under the name PC's Limited. In
1987, the company became Dell Computer Corporation. Dell Computer is perhaps best known for
the personal computers it designs, manufactures and sells for
home and office use, but Dell is also in the enterprise computing market with servers,
data storage devices, network switches and computer cluster lines.
Personal Digital Assistants, software & peripherals, including printers, rounds out Dell's product offerings.
In 1999, Dell overtook Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in
the United States. In 2002, Dell lost the lead to Hewlett-Packard, which acquired Compaq in 2002. In Q1 2003 Dell again
regained the lead.
To recognize the company's expansion beyond computers, the stockholders approved changing the company name to Dell, Inc. at
the annual company meeting in 2003.
The Dell direct business model, which eliminates the middleman, is
known for its speed of sale-to-delivery of the company's products. Dell builds computers to order. This keeps its inventory costs
low. Also, in this business model, the product is paid for before it is built. This gives Dell a negative cash conversion cycle.
A support division of Dell is Dell
International Services.
Brands
Dell markets their products under many brands, such as Optiplex, Dimension, Inspiron and PowerEdge.
Financial information
Dell was incorporated as a Texas corporation in 1984 with a capitalization of US$1000,
the minimum allowed by Texas law. In June 2003, Dell,
now a Delaware corporation, had a market capitalization of US$90 billion and revenues (FY 2003) of approximately US$31 billion. Dell
stock is floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York under the symbol DELL.
Advertising
- Benjamin Custis, a.k.a. the Dude, you're getting a
Dell guy.
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