STAPLES INVADES DELL INK BIZ

[Anonymous]

Staples invades Dell ink
biZ

Dell Inc.’s business
model is going head to head with Staples Inc.’s new motto.

The office supply store, which
touts the line “that was easy,” plans to announce today that it is selling ink
for Dell printers. As with the rest of its products, Dell only sells ink refills
directly to customers.

That creates an opportunity for
Staples, Senior Vice President Peter Scala said. “We’ve had an increasingly
large amount of customers asking do we sell Dell ink, and we felt we had to
respond.”

Although there are several Web
sites that sell Dell-compatible ink, Staples will have it in stores.

“We’re just trying to make it
easier for customers,” Scala said.

Dell executives recommend that
customers use genuine Dell ink and toner, a company spokeswoman said. That way,
they get the highest “quality and customer experience.”

Ink has become a major source
of revenue for printer makers. They have come to rely on ink sales as the price
of printers has dropped.

Staples has done well offering
remanufactured, refilled cartridges for a variety of brand-name printers,
including those sold by Hewlett-Packard, Epson and Canon, Scala said. The
retailer gathers the cartridges through recycling programs that reward customers
with paper, donations to schools or discounts.

The refilled cartridges, which
sell for 10 percent to 20 percent less than name brands, are thoroughly tested
and come guaranteed, Scala said. Although the generic inks might cut into
brand-name sales, the print makers haven’t objected, he said.

[Author]

May 15, 2005 at 10:52 AM