Dell's Display Sales Dip While Rivals See Big Gains
The number of Dell monitor shipments fell 3 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter of the year, whereas other display makers -- including top Dell rivals -- have experienced double-digit growth, according to Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch. For example, during that time period, Samsung posted a 41 percent gain in monitor shipments, and Dell archrival Hewlett-Packard had a 20 percent increase.
The numbers, which DisplaySearch plans to publish soon, come in light of a new report that Dell has cut some monitor unit orders from contract manufacturers and amid the PC hardware giant's struggle to regain momentum in the IT space.
"Dell has certainly, over the past year and a half or two years, made some very aggressive moves to have a display business unit. Overall, Dell recognizes the importance of the display as a product," said Chris Connery, an analyst at DisplaySearch. However, "Dell hasn't been convincing enough to either consumers or B2B purchasers," he added.
As the market has migrated to wide-screen displays, customers have gone to other vendors for the products. Connery said that's ironic because Dell initially maintained a leadership position in shipping wide-screen LCDs to the market.
Earlier in the day, a report by DigiTimes quoted a Chinese business publication that said Dell had cut its display shipment orders from contract manufacturers by 30 percent. A Dell spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
Still, Dell's decline in LCD sales isn't necessarily an indicator of strength or weakness in its PC business, Connery said. Data indicate that although Dell regularly attaches displays to PC sales, the Round Rock, Texas-based company hasn't achieved the kind of success in selling them as a stand-alone peripheral as Samsung has.
"That's where a reseller would have a benefit, in terms of being able to sell display upgrades," Connery said.