Dell to sell PCs at Asian retail stores

The company broke from its 23-year practice of direct sales to customers via the Internet or phone last month, and started selling low-priced PCs at Wal-Mart Stores in North America.

Paul-Henri Ferrand, who heads Dell's operations in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, China and South Korea, said the company was in talks with some retail chains and specialized stores across Asia but gave no names.

"Asia is a diverse region, so the indirect (retail) approach in the region will come sooner in some countries and later in others," Ferrand told a media briefing at Dell's Asian headquarters in Singapore.

"What we want to make sure is that we customize our approach by country and target via these (retail) channels the customers that we want to go after," he said, adding that different chains and stores would be used for selling low- and high-priced computers in different Asian countries.