Dell Inc. brings 0% financing to tech industry
By Peter J. Brennan
Bloomberg News Service
Dell Inc., the world's second-largest personal-computer maker, will offer 12 months of zero-interest financing for the first time on products including PCs and consumer electronics such as digital music players.
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The offer, available to U.S. residents with approved credit for purchases of $500 or more, begins tomorrow and ends Jan. 30, the Round Rock, Texas-based company said in a statement.
An employee works on a computer at Dell Inc.'s plant in Austin, Texas. Dell announced yesterday that it will offer zero-percent financing on purchases of $500 or more.
Dell has spent the last year expanding its product lines to televisions and printers to attract more consumers, who deliver 15 percent to 20 percent of the company's sales typically, with the rest from businesses and governments. Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc., the No. 1 and 2 U.S. electronics chains, offer no-interest financing for as long as two years.
"Dell continues to be aggressive with its direct selling model," Tony Ursillo, an analyst with Loomis Sayles & Co., which manages $55 billion and owns Dell shares, said from Boston in a televised Bloomberg News interview.
"They've been very successful selling PCs. Now they'll use their balance sheet strengths, brand strengths to penetrate other categories like TVs, MP3 players and even printers," Ursillo said.
Dell's holiday season went well, German business daily Handelsblatt reported Monday, citing Chief Operating Officer Kevin Rollins. Dell's fourth quarter concludes Jan. 31.
Shares of Dell rose 31 cents to $34.29 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They increased 27 percent last year. Hewlett-Packard is the world's largest maker of PCs, as ranked by shipments in 2002.
