Dell to sell computers at Best Buy

DALLAS - Dell Inc. is venturing further from its direct-to-consumer sales model and will start selling computers at Best Buy stores in January.

Analysts say Dell must expand its presence in stores because consumers increasingly want to touch computers before buying them.

Dell built its business around selling personal computers directly to customers over the phone or Internet, but it has been cutting deals with retailers as growth of PC sales slowed and Dell's U.S. consumer revenue declined.

The company lost its spot as the world's No. 1 computer maker to Hewlett-Packard Co. late last year, and HP has stretched its lead since then.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said Thursday that Best Buy Co. Inc., based in Richfield, will sell Dell's XPS and Inspiron notebook and desktop computers at more than 900 stores.

Best Buy complements Dell's U.S. retail lineup. Dell already sells modestly priced PCs in about 3,000 Wal-Mart stores and targets small-business owners with sales at 1,400 Staples Inc. stores.

Michael Tatelman, a vice president for Dell's consumer business, said Best Buy gives his company access to a big audience of shoppers looking for machines for gaming, music and photography.

That suggests negotiations with Best Buy were difficult, said J.P. Gownder, a marketing analyst for Forrester Research Inc.

Tatelman responded that Dell wrapped up the Best Buy deal sooner than expected.