Dell’s Conference Call

Seeking Alpha has the transcript. After the Q&A, Michael Dell has this to say:

So I want to thank you all for joining us and reiterate the points that Kevin made about our competitive environment and what we are doing to enhance the value we bring to our customers. The competitive environment has changed. Some competitors have gotten stronger. There has been price compression in the high-volume consumer transactional segment, and that has eroded industry profitability. More than ever, customers are using service as a point of differentiation.
These dynamics occurred while we drove growth and higher margins. This stalled our growth and gave some competitors the opportunity to improve profitability off of very low levels, and in some cases, grow share.
We are focused on re-establishing the value proposition of our model, delivering great value to our customers, and we have definitive plans in place to improve customer experience, product quality, and technology leadership. We also have plenty of opportunity to improve our cost position and drive better productivity.
We will continue to do what it takes to capture more than our fair share of the growth in the global IT market. Our level of investment, and the adjustments we are making are not intended to deliver a short-term benefit. Their impact will take time to unfold. Kevin and I, as well as the rest of our leadership team, are convinced that we are making the right changes and we intend to stay the course. We know that when we focus and execute on the key tenants of our direct model, we consistently drive industry-leading growth, profitability, and the liquidity.

Posted by on May 18th, 2006 at 9:04 pm


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