“It’s fitting that 2005 should be the year Dell is named America’s Most Admired Company. The computer maker turns 21 years old in May, and as it attains the age of majority, it has grown from an industry curio into one of the nation’s most prominent and respected corporations,” Andy Serwer writes for Fortune.
“But Michael Dell has been playing the role of youthful renegade for a long time now, and he’s clearly a little uncomfortable when I break the news in his offices in Round Rock, Texas, that his company is at the top of FORTUNE’s list. He thinks about it for a second and then flashes his ‘I can eat nails’ grin. ‘I know my mom would be proud, but I certainly don’t feel like we’re the most admired company,’ he says,” Serwer writes. “Just to give you an idea of how far Dell has come: 21 years ago (when the company was founded) IBM and HP were voted No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on America’s Most Admired Companies list. (At that point if you had asked the voters, “What’s a Dell?” they probably would have told you it was a small, secluded, wooded valley.) As for PC market share, of course, Dell wasn’t on the radar screen, while Commodore, with about $1.1 billion in PC sales, was the industry leader with a 27% U.S. market share. IBM was No. 2, and Apple and Tandy came in at No. 3 and No. 4.”
“Could Dell ever come up with a PlayStation or an iPod on its own? ‘We could. But I don’t think that’s our strategy,’ Dell CEO Kevin Rollins insists. ‘I think there are those who come up with those products, but frankly, as far as technologies that actually help customers, those two products are a one-product event. You can’t just have one product and then say you’re the innovative leader of the world. I’m a big admirer of everything [Apple’s] done. It’s phenomenal. But then to say it’s the world-beating wonder of forever? No, it’s not.’ Hmm, sounds like a case of Apple envy, which is understandable these days. While Dell is almost six times more profitable than Apple, its market cap is only three times bigger. Of course, thanks to the iPod, Apple is growing faster right now, and Steve Jobs’ company has all the buzz,” Serwer writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Dell’s CEO is turning out to be potentially nuttier than even Microsoft’s CEO/Dancing Monkey, Steve Ballmer. Rollins needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut and stop oozing jealousy towards Apple. Dell should be plenty worried about Apple and the Mac platform’s capacity to take away business from Dell and these continued comments by Rollins show his fear. Dell should also be worried about China, which could soon potentially eat commodity Wintel box assemblers like Dell for lunch, but that’s another story.
Fortune’s survey asked businesspeople to vote for 10 companies that they admired most, from any industry. On the top ten list of “Innovation,” Dell was absent while Apple Computer placed 3rd after Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (1st) and FedEx (2nd). On the top ten “Computers” list, at number 1 (ironically, since they’ve exited the PC business) sits IBM with a score of 7.61, Dell at number 2, with 7.46, and Apple Computer scored 6.84, which was good enough for 3rd place. In computer software, Apple isn’t even included on the list – so, now you know just about everything you need to know why this list is a mess. Apple is one of the top software developers in the world.
Fortune and its survey partner, Hay Group, asked the top managers at 582 companies (the largest by revenues in each sector) to judge their competition. In all, 10,000 executives, directors, and securities analysts rated the companies in their industry on eight attributes (Innovation, Employee talent, Use of corporate assets, Social responsibility, Quality of management, Financial soundness, Long-term investment, Quality of products/services). Fortune then asked voters to name the companies they most admire in any business from a pool that included last year’s top quartile of finishers plus the top two on each industry list.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
BusinessWeek: Rather than dismissing Apple products as fads, Dell should try starting a few – January 31, 2005
Dismissive Dell CEO not impressed with Apple Mac mini, calls iPod a ‘one-product wonder’ and a ‘fad’ – January 17, 2005
Michael Dell owes Apple an apology; Apple up 176 percent vs. Dell’s 13 percent in past 12 months – January 15, 2005
Everytime these guys mention Apple in a disparaging manner it shows their fear.
Those stupid Dell commercials with the guy in bed calling in the middle of the night are so arcane. Apple has phone assistance during the week, but people dont need the kind of help they do with wintel boxes. Im glad I finally saw the light in 2002. I can barely stand having to work on a windows box. Ill walk to the back of the school library to use the jaguar OS on old eMacs rather than use those Dell POS up front.
There was a recent Newsweek article, which said the same thing: Innovation outside of the production arena was viewed as “a waste of investors’ money” at Dell. Apple was a failure because “nobody was buying” their product.
I’m reminded of Henry Ford and the Model T. Ford made huge improvements in automobile production and brought the cost of the car into the range most working people could afford.
But he also produced the same model T for NINETEEN YEARS (1908 -1927) with only minor improvements. “You can have it any color you want, as long as that’s black” is the frequently cited quote. Ford held 61% of the US market for automobiles. They eliminated many of their competitors by simply pricing them out of existence. Why innovate when the car is now a “commodity?”
Then GM (and particularly Chevrolet) began competing on style and options and service, and Ford never again dominated the market as they did in that period – at one point 52% of the cars in the world were Ford Model T’s. Ford had to scramble to compete, introducing the Model A.
The tipping point for Ford came when the number of second-time buyers outnumbered first-time buyers. All the first-time buyers had a Model T, and wanted something better next time…..
Something Dell should remember.
MDN wrote: “On the top ten “Computers” list, at number 1 (ironically, since they’ve exited the PC business) sits IBM with a score of 7.61″
IRONIC? Ever heard of a little computer called Blue Gene/L? The one that topped the list of most powerful supercomputers IN THE WORLD?
You Mac people don’t understand the world we actually live in. You say that the Mac is ‘better’- and it is better- but better in the wrong way. The Mac is better like the Renaissance was better- it is culturally elite. It is beautiful. It is refined. It does things fantastically well. Our world today is not culturally elite, and we can’t handle greatness! Most of us are ordinary, average guys. We do not go to the Louvre to see Da Vinci and Van Gough- we go to the couch to see what’s on tonight on Fox! Steve Jobs is cool, but he’s too cool: he would never hang out with guys like us! Bill Gates is as big of a loser/hoser as I am/we are. He has no taste. He is not smart. That’s why we Window’s guys love him- we are not great, we are not smart. Greatness makes us uncomfortable. Averageness allows us to sleep comfortably with our overweight/out of shape wives! We don’t deserve/want a Nietzschean ubermensch leading us. Give us our utilitarian Mills/Gates! Don’t hate us for sucking at everything: Most people suck, and WE ARE LIKE MOST PEOPLE!! WE SUCK, BUT SUCKING IS OK!! WE LIVE IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD!!
Losers of the world, unite!!
Dell is a distribution company and is very successful right now. Their largest risk is going to be China and their potential to flood the US market with a ton of computers that are significantly cheaper than Dell.
In terms of products, Dell will continue to be a “follow the leader” company, which is the second major risk they are taking.
Presently there are enough novice users to keep Dell at the top of the heap, but that will not last forever.
Dell makes no software.They are stuck and have their hands tied with MS.I look at this way if Apple just made hardware and ran on MS they would have been out of bussiness long time ago. But they make their own software and can innovate.Thats pretty powerful if you ask me.Even if MS had no virus Apple would still be a company to fear just because they have their own software and hardware.
Dell has a single principle as a business model. They don’t do R&D. They don’t improve on design. They don’t innovate. They sell the status quo at a lower price than anybody else…so far. They are in the same position Chrysler (Dodge) occupied in the auto industry in 1970. Chrysler nearly went under. They were saved by a government bailout. What happened to them was that they were “out-cheaped” by the Japanese and the Europeans at the same time that fuel shortages and price hikes made their product less desirable.
Fast forward to today and change industries to computer manufacturing. Dell will be “out-cheaped” by the Chinese using slave labor for production and Linux for an operating system. At the same time Wintel boxes are being made extremely undesirable by the increasing glut of spam, malware, etc.
Apple is in a position analogous to BMW in this historical model. They’ll do well because they don’t compete on price, and they aren’t dependent on an albatross of an OS.
But hey, what do I know? My investment analysis and strategy has only made me 600% in the last 2 years. I’m sure you’ve done better, right?
Dull doesn’t need to wory about China at all. They will just move their production there when they need to.
Strawberry yogurt is my favorite.
Oh, and you Mac zealots are clearly just jealous. Dell is a true innovator – something Apple will never be.
Apple makes quality products with quality parts.
Dell makes cheap products with cheap parts.
To me they don’t target the same cusotmers….
My sister is on her third Dell laptop because they keep breaking. I’m still on my first PowerBook.. I’ve never had a problem she has all kinds of problems. He husband has gone through numerous Dell laptops too. She’s now considering switching to a Mac.. she’s tired of all her crappy dell computers.
Dell’s will last maybe 3 years if you’re lucky.. An Apple computer will last you ten years.. Quality.. That’s what Apple is about and people are starting to figure that out. Now that processor speeds aren’t bumping up so fast and people are realizing they don’t need so much power, people will look for something that’s built with quality and will last. Companies like Apple and Alienware will do well.
you know, there are other PC manufactures other than Dell .Try an IBM, Toshiba, or a Sony.
“An Apple computer will last you ten years”
Maybe, but will it be usable? I still have my Mac Quadra 800 66 mhz. Yeah it boots but so does my 486 sx66 with win 3.11….both are crap. You’re point?
Ben-
I mentioned another PC manufacturer that I thought was damn good, Alienware, but maybe you have tunnel vision and only see what you want.
As I stated point is that they have quality products that last… You can turn your old Mac into a dedicated router and firewall. It’ll last and that’s comforting.
Also, I have no problems with PC’s, just crappy Dell’s.
Good ol’ Ben. Standing up for the PC faithful. We’re a dying breed, buddy.
By the way, IBM is out of the PC business, numbnuts.
“Dell’s will last maybe 3 years if you’re lucky.. “ – PeterTheDellBeater
Um, yeah, if you don’t use it.
Dell is the Wal-Mart of computing – period. All the PC faithful will defend Dell till their dying breath but for what? Why? You know Dells are crap so why not just accept it?
What did Apple have to do with the original of AOL, ndelc? Were they really involved somehow? Anybody remember eWorld, or maybe this is what you’re referring to? Ahhh, those were to good ‘ol days before the WWW was born.. the world of BBSs.
Apple has been at the forefront of technology all along. Even in their dark years, their systems looked much nicer next to the drap PCs.
I had no idea that Dell was 21 years old… never heard of them really until the last couple of years since they’ve exploded onto the scene. It still shocks me how most consumers think that Windows is their only option, and Macs just don’t cut it. They’ve got it so backwards.
Ha … you Mac guys are so pantheritic. Why would you pay so much for a computer?
Why, i walked into my local pc shop the other day, and they offered to pay ME to pick up a pc. Top that Mac men!
It’s a great machine too .. it’s got a gigablertz chip, and ram up the ying yang … and none of your wimply girly like mini cases .. nosireee…its got a big honkin 3 foot tower that I can crawl right into and upgrade the baby MYSelf!
Sorry I have to go now .. my favorite reality tv show is on, so I’m sitting down to watch my fuzzy 53inch Zellers humungo flat screen special, have a nice bowl of Kraft dinner, and check my lottery tickets ..
See ya losers ….
“Also, I have no problems with PC’s, just crappy Dell’s.”
hmmm…ok, then don’t buy them…problem solved…not sure if your “PeterTheDellBeater” crusade is really warranted.
I’m not exacly a fan of margarine as I prefer butter…but you don’t see me flipping my shit everytime I eat a cookie made with the vile stuff
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Ben,
What is “flipping my shit”???
Is that some Wintel Fan Boy code lingo or something? I’m unfamiliar with the concept of flipping shit.
It’s Ben lingo….usually nonsensical words that make no sense to anyone
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I understand Ben perfectly. We have a telepathic connection – the same one all Wintel fanboys need since we need a frickin’ 20 person IT staff just to keep our network going. No Rendezvous here, baby!
Don’t you Mac zealots feel so excluded?
BSOD:
The PC community defends Dell? The PC community defends no one…there is absolutely no brand loyalty whatsoever. PC users shop based solely on price and nothing more. Read up and do some research before making stupid statements. Dell is crap…’nuff said.
Please move along…nothing to see here.
NoMacForYou:
Didn’t I tell you to crawl in a cave and never come out like a week ago? Why are you still here? go away
Little Boy Ben…
You did read the article, didn’t you? So you know why I’m shouting for Apple, don’t you? Then of course you know why the subject is Dell and Apple and why on a Mac site we’d bash a Dell, where the CEO keeps jabbing at Apple..
Ben,
It helps if you actually read the post. I didn’t say “the PC community” – I said “the PC faithful.” Clearly, I was referring to the PC faithful that feel the need to post on this particular topic, since I would hope that our comments here are topical.
That may not be the case for you but I guess it seldom is for you trolls.