Can Dell Mount a Comeback?

In opening stores, Dell is acknowledging that retailers are in a better position to address the increasing number of consumers who view computers as an entertainment purchase. Walk down the aisle of your local Best Buy, and you will see that desktop screens are as likely to display Sid Meier's Civilization as H&R Block's TaxCut. "It's not just a PC anymore. I'm connecting this box to the rest of my life," says Michael Vitelli, senior vice president of consumer electronics. "Dell made its money when the computer was a static box. People want to see the art of the possible, and we can give them that."

One possibility that doesn't exist is the ability to walk out of the store with a computer. The new stores won't carry inventory, so consumers will have to wait a few days for delivery. That lowers operating costs, but Vitelli says the impatience of the gotta-have-it-now mall shopper is not on Dell's side: "Are you going to go to the restaurant, look at the menu and say, 'That's great. Send me the meal in 10 days'?"

Even as the company ramps up its retail operation, Dell CEO Kevin Rollins still downplays the significance of the home market, saying "It's a secondary priority compared to our corporate customers." And he argues that the move is really an expansion of the small kiosks that Dell has set up in malls to allow customers to place orders. Says Parra: "We have 160 kiosks that have been very successful, and all we are doing is expanding on that success."

The stores are part of a bigger program to make the company more user-friendly. Dell is retraining its customer-support staff and offering a new service called Dell Direct, which allows a technician to connect to a customer's computer to root out problems. That's partly in response to harsh criticism after the company didn't initially beef up customer support as business grew, leading to 30-min. waits to talk to a phone rep. Last year Dell also announced it would hire 1,500 more call-center workers. "What I am most excited about is the investment in customer support," says Rollins. "It allows consumers who are not on a network directly, to connect with us the same way a big corporate client would."

Dell is confident that the direct model still affords consumers as much advantage as it does business. But last week's results signal that the days of exceeding growth predictions are probably over. Dell may be forced to grind it out like everyone else. "When you're that big, how do you keep growing like that?" asks Roger Kay, president of research firm Endpoint Technologies. "Dell has to reset Wall Street's expectations, but the computer industry is still seen as young. It's hard for a tech company to face Wall Street and say, 'Look, guys, this is who we are.'" It may be even harder when you've been No. 1 forever.